If you’ve never been a fan of Jason Sudeikis as the good-natured, friendly soccer coach Ted Lasso, then last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live will be right up your alley. The former castmate returned to studio 8H to host SNL and brought with him some of his most loathsome characters and outrageous antics that made him such a memorable part of the cast almost a decade ago.
The only trace of Ted Lasso came in the monologue when Sudeikis took a moment to reflect genuinely on what SNL has meant to him both as a writer and performer on the show, and before that, as a young kid with dreams of being a comedian. “This place changed my life—twice. Once as a cast member and as a writer here, but most importantly, as a kid watching from home. And if there’s a good chance you’re watching tonight, there’s probably something from this place that’ll change your life too.”
Other than that, it was a feast of jokes, from the downright evil stylings of the devil to the subtler antics of a science teacher who loses his cool and a new tv show host aiming to be the male version of Ellen Degeneres. “Mellen!”—put some protein in your daytime tv.
Of course, Sudeikis also brought back some of his less evil but equally notable characters, including the dancing sidekick on the talk show “What’s Up With That” and Pennsylvania’s own Joe Biden. During the cold open, Sudeikis beamed in as the former VP, finger guns a’blazin, from the happier year of 2013 to offer the current, disheartened version of Joe Biden (played by James Austin Johnson) a little advice on how to stay happy. “I want you to stand tall,” Sudeikis said. “Flash those 100-percent-natural choppers we got. And remember, we may be from different eras. But at the end of the day, we’re both Joe freakin’ Biden.”
Check out a few of the other best sketches below.
