‘Saturday Night Live’: Why Gina Rodriguez of ‘Jane the Virgin’ should host in season 42
In continuing our “Saturday Night Live” Wishlist Series this weekend, we wanted to specifically focus on some of the TV stars our readers specifically noted should get a chance to host in the future. Yesterday, we cast the focus on “Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra. Today, we’re shifting the spotlight over to “Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez. She’s someone we’ve wanted to see for a better part of a year now, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to make a great argument for her to get the gig. Our readers seem to agree, given the flood of messages we received last week after throwing the question out there as to your own dream hosts.
Why she should host – She’s hilarious. What more do you need to know? Well, we’re going to tell you anyway! “Jane the Virgin” is a fantastic show that’s really an original when you look at any of the main five broadcast networks. It’s got brilliantly funny moments mixed with heartfelt, more tender scenes where you get to know the characters better. Gina shines on it no matter what sort of material you give her. She’s someone whose energy would translate very well to the Studio 8H stage, and her work in development / producing suggests to us that she’d be equally active in helping to come up with fun ideas alongside the show’s writers and cast members. You always want that extra boost of creativity.
When you are looking for the ideal “SNL” host, three of the things you really should want are someone who is eager to do the job, someone who’s qualified to deliver comedy on live TV, and also someone who’s going to bring something that viewers of the show don’t see on a weekly basis. For decades, the series has been lacking in terms of Latino talent, and booking Gina would be a great stepping stone for diversity while also a brilliant booking in terms of entertainment, similar to Aziz Ansari from earlier this year.
Could it happen? – We don’t see any reason why not. “SNL” doesn’t generally hire many TV stars as hosts, but the ones that they do tend to be ones who are popular with young viewers — and ones that get tons of critical acclaim. Rodriguez has a Golden Globe win and several nominations, and the “Jane the Virgin” demographic is perfectly in line with what “SNL” would want in terms of viewership. She’s also still perceived as an up-and-coming talent, so bringing her on would given many viewers who aren’t as familiar with her the chance to see how funny she is. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact research on this, but from what we’ve looked through there’s never been a star of a CW show to come aboard “SNL” to host. That alone would be a great breakthrough for the network given that they’ve also just started to break through with awards shows.
In the end, we know that there are challenges when it comes to scheduling — there always is with TV stars. We just feel like if “SNL” wants someone badly enough, they’ll figure out a way to make it work.
Do you want to see Gina Rodriguez host “Saturday Night Live” this season? Share below, and head over here to see some other chapters of our SNL Wishlist series! (Photo: NBC.)