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The 17 Best SNL Sketches of Season 49


Season 49 seldom stayed at cruising altitude for very long, but it often soared and had more highs than lows, which is about all you can ask for.

While plenty of stand-ups have found ways to process what they’re seeing in Israel and Palestine with humor, SNL opted out almost entirely, seeming to wade in only where the show appeared least likely to catch a boycott and leaving it to guest hosts like Ramy Youssef to address the tricky stuff. Sometimes a sketch hinges on a high concept, and other times it simply asks, “What if ABBA made a Christmas album?” Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig join former castmate and first-time host Kate McKinnon and a Nordic-bearded Bowen Yang to play “the Fleetwood Mac of cold weather” and sing directly into one another’s open mouths. The top topical impression this season belongs to Scarlett Johansson, who was crushing it on SNL long before husband Colin Jost made it to “Weekend Update.” The guest star mastered her take on Katie Britt’s cosmically cringe response to the State of the Union address within 48 hours of its airing.

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