Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 29, 2026
Season 51 of SNL started out slow, as the revamped cast and all the new writers took a few weeks (months?) to really gel. The season turned a corner with the Christmas episodes (hosted by Ariana Grande), which also saw the departure of Bowen Yang. With Ashley Padilla emerging as the breakout star of the season — and maybe the biggest breakout SNL has seen in years — the back half was must-watch television, and almost never for the political cold opens.
Looking back at all 19 episodes, I’ve ranked the 11 best sketches of the year because I couldn’t stop at ten.
11. Rasta Driver — Admittedly, I didn’t rank it as high as it deserved when it premiered during the Olivia Rodrigo episode, but Andrew Dismukes doing absolute A+ white rasta was maybe the highlight of Andrew Dismukes’ entire SNL career. The impression plus the sheer surprise of it was enough to rocket it into the top ten.
10. Pinwheel — I don’t usually go for the absurdist stuff, but this was one of the rare gems from the early half of the season, buried in an otherwise lackluster episode. Nikki Glaser plays an adult who revisits the make-believe land of her childhood and gives two bunnies a pinwheel — and they absolutely lose their s*** over it, so much so that Bowen Yang’s character eventually screams at them. This was Jeremy Culhane’s pre-breakout hit, before he introduced his Tucker Carlson to the world.
9. Stripper — There was a lot of anticipation for the Connor Storrie episode after Heated Rivalry became a huge hit, but the episode itself didn’t have a lot going for it until one of the last sketches of the night. Storrie plays a stripper who shows up to a bachelorette party after being hit by a car, but the show must go on. The physical comedy was perfection (and sure, Storrie is also hot).
8. Blowing It — Another late-episode sketch, this one a pre-tape from the tail end of the show. Martin Herlihy demonstrates how to get your significant other to break up with you. There’s just something about the way Herlihy mocks his girlfriend’s father that left me absolutely gasping for breath.
7. Matt Damon Cold Open — SNL cold opens have largely been a chore to sit through during the Trump era, especially in recent years. We see enough of Donald Trump; we don’t need a parody of him on our days off. But this? Absolute gold. Aziz Ansari returned for his second episode as Kash Patel, and he and Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth added a third Brewski brother with the return of Matt Damon’s Brett Kavanaugh, in what may have been the best (and maybe most depressing) cold open since … Matt Damon’s original Brett Kavanaugh cold open. Just three chill dudes getting blackout drunk.
6. Surprise — This was the sketch where we all knew that Ashley Padilla was going to be the season’s breakout star. When her co-workers throw her a surprise party, Padilla’s character basically sh**s herself and then spends the rest of the meeting complaining about what a terrible idea a surprise party was. There are a lot of farts and plenty of cast members cracking up.
5. Mom Confession — Padilla again, this time as a MAGA mom who tries to confess to her children that she may have been wrong — but insists they not react or say “I told you so,” which proves to be hilariously impossible. It’s a good premise for a sketch, but Padilla sends it absolutely over the top in ways that are funny and weirdly relatable.
4. MAHAspital — As with the sketch above, SNL illustrates that it can still be funny and politically relevant. This is a parody of The Pitt, as if it were run by MAHA freaks. “If your favorite character from The Pitt was the guy who punched the nurse, you’re going to love MAHAspital.”
3. Delta Lounge — This one was the year’s sentimental favorite, and one of many great sketches on the Ariana Grande episode (two more were late cuts). Bowen Yang gets a proper send-off in a tearful duet — appropriately enough, with Grande — and a special appearance from Cher. It’s a real tearjerker.
2. Passing Notes — Overall, I think the Ryan Gosling episode was the best of the year (followed by Ariana Grande and then Matt Damon’s episode). This is a big reason reason. It’s a genius sketch where Gosling plays the Principal and Padilla plays a teacher who catch kids passing notes and read the notes out loud in class, only neither Gosling nor Padilla has read the notes before so, clearly, they cannot keep a straight face while they’re reading them for the first time. It’s like a joke swap, but for a sketch.
1. Home Alone — Earlier this year, I said that Ashley Padilla reminded me of Catherine O’Hara, and here she is playing the Catherine O’Hara part in a classic Christmas SNL sketch. It’s my favorite kind of sketch: one starring Ashley Padilla, and one that turns surprisingly violent.
