The 51-year-old former cast member of 'SNL' is back in Studio 8H to make his hosting debut on the hit NBC comedy show following his last appearance back in 2012.
- Jan 24, 2022
AceShowbiz - Will Forte returned to "Saturday Night Live" in the Saturday, January 22 episode. The 51-year-old comedian, who last appeared on the show in 2012, was back in Studio 8H to make his hosting debut on the hit NBC comedy show.
During his opening monologue, Will, who was among "SNL" cast members from 2002 to 2010, claimed that he was disappointed that he was only asked to host an episode now. "I was in the cast 12 years ago with Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Fred Armisen," he noted. "So it was really fun to see Kristen host, then Bill, then Andy, then Fred, then Kristen again, then Bill again, then Jason."
"Seth Meyers, he's one of my best buds. But, come on! He wasn't really a sketch guy, he was just on 'Weekend Update'. Does that even count as being on the show? But he hosted," he continued. "John Mulaney was a writer when I was in the cast and he then hosted - four times, four times! But hey, that's OK! You know, I'm not bitter about it."
The funnyman added, "Save the best for last, right? Save the best for way last! Look, after 12 long years, tonight, it's finally my turn. My time to shine. Tonight, it's all about me."
However, he was wrong because the attention was quickly stolen from him when Kristen made a surprise appearance onstage, earning a loud round of applause from the audience. "You know, I flew in for this," she said, to which Will responded, "Great, so you know where the airport is."
Kristen wasn't the only one who made it harder for Will to make the night only about him as "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels and next week's host Willem Dafoe joined them onstage. "I'm so sorry, Will, there's been a mistake," Lorne jokingly told Will that his casting was apparently a mistake. "You think I would book someone named Will, then someone named Willem?"
"But you texted me to come host, Lorne," Will insisted. Lorne explained, "I texted Willem, and you know, autocorrect."
In the episode, Will was joined by rock band and 2021 Eurovision winner Maneskin who served as the musical guest for the episode. The outing also marked the group's debut on the show. As for Willem, he is scheduled to host next week's episode with Katy Perry as the musical guest.
