Just as the sketch-turned-movie-turned TV show MacGruber will apparently never truly die, Will Forte will forever be welcome back in Studio 8H. Appearing alongside former cast mate Kenan Thompson and 2021 Eurovision Song Contest winners (and seeming coven of 1970s Italian vampires) Måneskin to promote his first-ever Saturday Night Live hosting gig, Forte was all smiles. At least until he realized someone forgot to fetch him, Mr. Hollywood big shot, that sashimi he ordered. (“I’m only gonna do the one take,” Forte told Kenan, his hipper showmanship shading into a menacing lower register before storming off.)
Forte—master of absurdist, stretch a bit ’til it breaks cringe comedy ever since joining the SNL cast in 2002—first smilingly big-timed Kenan, proclaiming that he would never, ever forget his former Saturday Night Live comrades now that he’s a massive, Emmy-nominated star and such.
Sure, he called Kenan “Michael Kriegan, my favorite lighting guy,” but Forte was patronizingly supportive in telling Kenan that’s it’s cool the show lets a backstage crew member do the promos these days. (Kenan, despite now having been a cast member more than twice as long as Forte was, just can’t get any respect.)
So, what does the new promo clip for Will Forte’s SNL episode tell us?
As for what we can expect from Forte’s return to the show, the pair of promos gave no earthly clue, except to reassert that Will Forte likes playing glassy-eyed weirdos in sketches nobody but Will Forte could pull off.
Of all the strange and singular kooks Forte played in his eight years on the show, he wasn’t really known for going back to the same well all that often. But a “Weekend Update” return of mumbly, cue card-dependent, perennially unelectable political candidate Tim Calhoun might be a safe bet, as is an inevitable MacGruber rerun, with perhaps another outing for The Falconer right behind.
It’s a longshot, but if Jason Sudeikis is in town, a Jon Bovi reprise wouldn’t go amiss, with ESPN’s Greg Stink and Peter Twinkle bringing up the rear. (Of course, true Forte-Sudeikis aficionados know there’s really only one sketch we truly need back in our lives):
Regardless, it’s pretty much a guaranteed jolt of gonzo conceptual energy when Will Forte’s in the house, so look for that ten-to-one spirit to seep into the show right from the jump. (And, for Lorne Michaels’ sake, here’s hoping the returning cast ratings curse spares Forte’s comeback.)
A former cast member swanning back in to the show can turn a hosting stint into a parade of old characters everyone was sort of done with before the cast member left the show. (As ever, sorry, Kristen Wiig, but nobody missed “Secret Word” but you.) But Forte is the sort of restless comic performer unlikely to be satisfied with just playing the hits.