SNL

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Adam Driver hosting 2016’s first episode of SNL, a Kylo Ren sketch of some kind was inevitable. After all, you don't get the actor who plays the villain in one of the biggest movies of all time to appear on your comedy variety show and not have him reprise that character. And we'll give the show this much: we never would have predicted a faux episode of Undercover Boss set on Starkiller Base, with the angry, murderous Kylo Ren going undercover amongst his troops as a radar technician named Matt.

Maybe you didn’t realize how much you missed Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush impression on SNL until the actor popped in for a surprise appearance during the cold open, delivering a State of the Union address on our current crop of GOP presidential hopefuls — which is essentially just Ferrell’s Dubbya roasting his fellow Republicans in an attempt to make an unprecedented bid for a third term as POTUS.

After taking a bit of a break from acting to make his directorial debut (and to have what I presume is a very adorable baby with Eva Mendes), Ryan Gosling is back. In addition to starring in upcoming films from Adam McKay and Shane Black, the actor is cementing his return with his SNL debut. Gosling can't keep a straight face through most of the episode, which delivers some really weird and delightful sketches with few disappointments. Read on for our ranking of this week's SNL sketches from best to worst.

Ever the human punchline, Donald Trump has braved some of his staunchest comedy critics in pursuit of the 2016 presidency. The blowhard billionaire even made headlines with which SNL player would tackle the role in Season 41, but all bets are off when “The Donald” himself hosts an upcoming November outing.

Amy Schumer has had an incredible couple of years with her hit series Inside Amy Schumer, her collaboration with Judd Apatow for Trainwreck, and her upcoming HBO comedy special. When you’re this beloved, there’s one place you need to be: on the SNL stage. Schumer makes her SNL hosting debut tonight and absolutely kills it, delivering a complete 180 from whatever happened with last week's relentlessly humorless season premiere (can we just pretend this was the season premiere? OK). There’s so much to love in this consistently funny episode, where even the weakest sketch of the night is still quite delightful. Read on for this week’s sketches, ranked from best to worst.

SNL is back! Season 41 kicks off with famed tongue-wagging pop star Miley Cyrus pulling double duty as both host and musical guest, and regardless of how you feel about her music career, the last time Cyrus hosted was a total delight. New featured player Jon Rudnitsky makes his debut in the premiere, which leans heavy on the political content and offers a decent — though not nearly great — first outing for the season. Read on for our official ranking of this week's sketches!

Every week, SNL ends up having to cut a sketch or two for time — these segments are released online as “digital exclusives.” Sometimes, those segments are better than anything else that aired, like this short that was cut from the Season 40 finale, featuring Louis C.K. and Kyle Mooney’s pitiful fictional comedian Bruce Chandling.

Last night’s generally unremarkable episode of SNL peaked early when it took advantage of its proximity to Mother’s Day to do something kind of remarkable. As part of her opening monologue, guest host Reese Witherspoon declared that the show was going to mark the occasion by bringing each cast member out with his or her mother...and then forcing them to apologize for their childhood transgressions.

Coming off the major acclaim (and major awards buzz) for Birdman, Michael Keaton returns to host SNL for the third time in his long and varied career. Keaton possesses a great deal of comedic sensibility, and his hosting gig this weekend almost seems a bit tardy, given his recent career resurgence. Better late than never. How did Keaton fare back on the SNL stage? Read on for your weekly sketch rankings!

Don Pardo, the man who introduced the 'SNL' lineup every week since 1975, has sadly passed away at the age of 96. Pardo also lent his voice to radio, sports, game shows, and commercials over the course of his incredibly long-running career, but we'll always remember him best for that wonderful phrase: "It's 'Saturday Night Live!'"

Tracy Morgan ('30 Rock,' 'Saturday Night Live') is in critical condition after a six-vehicle accident on the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning. Morgan had been riding in a limo bus from Dover, Delaware where he performed Friday night.

It really doesn't feel like 'SNL' unless there's a commercial parody video, which have been the show's bread and butter for decades. Last night's episode had the first memorable fake ad in awhile, offering a look at the thankfully fictional CNN pregnancy test.