Right from the casts’ living rooms, Saturday Night Live is back on our TV screens! The show was a breath of fresh air, and, although we weren’t expecting a host this week, delivered with the perfect one: Tom Hanks! “That is some sound effect of applause and whistles! Thank you, thank you engineers!” Tom, who just recovered from the COVID-19 virus, announced. “Hey, all you cool cats and kittens!” the 63 year old actor added, giving the viral Tiger King documentary a shoutout. “It’s me your old pal — don’t worry, the shaved head was just for a movie and the hair is growing back very slowly. It does save time in the shower, so maybe we should all do it?” he joked right from his cozy kitchen!
“It’s good to be here, but it’s also very weird to be here hosting Saturday Night Live from home. It is a strange time to try and be funny. But trying to be funny is SNL‘s whole thing! So we thought what the heck? Let’s give it a shot!” he continued. Of course, he went on to reveal he was selected as the host after inadvertently becoming the “celebrity” face of Coronavirus alongside his wife Rita Wilson! “Ever since being diagnosed, I have been more like America’s dad than ever before since no one wants to be around me very long, and I make people uncomfortable,” Tom joked. After documenting their experience getting sick in Australia — where Tom was filming a movie — the couple were able to return home to Los Angeles at the end of March.
Since getting back to the United States, Tom and Rita have been in quarantine with the rest of the state. “We’re hunkered down just like we all should be — this suit? This suit is the first time I’ve work anything other than sweatpants since March 11th!” Tom hilariously revealed, adding that he “forgot” how to use buttons and Rita kindly lent him a hand. “Now this Saturday Night Live is going to be a little different — as our cast are all at home quarantined in their homes,” Tom continued, noting that the episode wasn’t technically “live.”
Just when we thought he was going to wrap up, the Cast Away star hilariously went on to do a Q&A with none other than…himself! “I got a question for Tommy Tim Tam,” an Aussie version of Tom asked. “How do you get your daily dose of Vegemite?” While recovering from COVID-19, Tom did at one point reveal he was enjoying a piece of toast with the popular Australian food spread in an Instagram post! “Enough of that,” Tom dismissed, declining to answer.
Just two weeks after confirming a hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak, SNL announced its first-ever remote version on Thursday, April 9 via social media. “This Saturday” a tweet read, surrounded with double exclamation marks. A photo of the main cast — including Pete Davidson, Heidi Gardner, and Kate McKinnon — on video-conferencing app Zoom was attached, along with the hashtag, “#SNLAtHome.”
As per NBC’s rules, the production practiced social distancing rules with regular cast members participating in table reads and the show from their own homes. The April 11 episode makes history as the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live in 45 seasons not to take place at the legendary Studio 8H. John Krasinski and Dua Lipa were set to appear on the now postponed Mar. 28 episode.