NBC’s Saturday Night Live announces Paul Rudd and Emma Thompson as final season 44 hosts; on May 11, Thompson will host the penultimate episode, and Rudd will host the season finale on May 18. After a brief series hiatus, Adam Sandler will make his long-anticipated return to Saturday Night Live on May 4.
In pop culture, the British actress Thompson is perhaps best known for her Academy Award-nominated ‘90s performances. For the 1992 romantic drama Howard’s End, Thompson won the Oscar for Best Actress. The following year, she received Oscar nominations for both The Remains of the Day (Best Actress) and In the Name of the Father (Best Supporting Actress). For the 1995 period drama Sense and Sensibility, Thompson earned another Best Actress nomination, and also won for Best Adapted Screenplay. As for Rudd, he’s known for his young-at-heart comedic movie characters, and also for his recurring role as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rudd starred in the 2015 film Ant-Man and reprised his superhero character in Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the upcoming franchise installment Avengers: Endgame.
On Twitter, Saturday Night Live announced that Thompson and Rudd will host the final two episodes of season 44. For the May 11 show, the Jones Brothers will headline with Thompson, while DJ Khaled is scheduled as the musical guest for Rudd’s season finale hosting gig on May 18. Saturday Night Live also references the upcoming May 4 show featuring Adam Sandler and Shawn Mendes, and they remind fans to “Mark. Those. Calendars.” Check out Saturday Night’s Live tweet below.
In recent weeks, Saturday Night Live has made headlines with their politically themed cold opens, and also by capitalizing on Game of Thrones’ final season. For the cold opens - a staple of the iconic sketch comedy series - Saturday Night Live has parodied R. Kelly’s bizarre televised interview with Gayle King, along with recently arrested figures like Julian Assange and Lori Loughlin. On April 6, Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington hosted Saturday Night Live, and appeared in character as Jon Snow for a sketch about fake Game of Thrones crossover shows. This season, Saturday Night Live also addressed the ongoing Jussie Smollett saga with a racially charged sketch.
For Saturday Night Live, the announcement of Rudd and Thompson as season 44’s final hosts will please many fans. Rudd will join the four-time club with his latest appearance, and his endearing brand of aloof comedy aligns with the show’s improvisational premise. And while the first-time host Thompson is indeed known for her dramatic roles, she’s also displayed her comedic versatility throughout the years, and recently starred opposite Mindy Kaling in Nisha Ganatra’s dramedy Late Night. The final two episodes of Saturday Night Live season 44 should be eventful, especially considering that American politics consistently provides relevant sketch material.
More: Emma Thompson’s Letter To Skydance: Why She Couldn’t Work With John Lasseter
Source: Saturday Night Live
