Saturday Night Live: Sterling K. Brown hosting, Bill Hader returning

Sterling K. Brown and Saturday Night Live felt like a match made in Heaven — it felt like this was going to happen eventually and now it is.

NBC confirmed on Monday that Brown will host the show for the first time on March 10 alongside first-time musical guest James Bay (who is exceptional in his own right). Given that This Is Us is the biggest scripted hit for NBC in years it felt inevitable that Brown would get this chance; This Is Us also wraps filming early enough for this to be possible. Given his recent Emmy wins and his role in Black Panther, it felt like he would be the right choice to represent the show. (Still, we want some Justin Hartley and Chrissy Metz cameos!)

The best thing about seeing Brown on SNL is that he’s best known for taking on dramatic material; here, he gets to be a little more of the Sterling K. Brown we’ve seen both on social media and in interviews — he’s naturally funny and he’ll probably embrace every opportunity he gets.

As for the March 17 show…

We don’t want to downplay the fact that Bill Hader (promoting his new show Barry) is returning to host. He’s one of our all-time favorite cast members and one of the best character-creators out there alongside Will Ferrell and Kate McKinnon. Obviously a Stefon return would be nice but it’s not necessarily a requirement given that his Vincent Price and James Carville are also outstanding. Herb Welch is a great example of a Bill Hader character we never appreciated enough until after he left the show.

Hader will be joined on this show by Arcade Fire, which is mostly notable in that they’re one of the best musical guests best known in SNL lore for their appearance in a sketch. Remember New Cast Member or Arcade Fire from the Tina Fey episode years ago. This still remains one of our favorites, especially the part where Lorne Michaels comes out and fails to recognize Kenan Thompson as a part of the cast.

What do you think about Bill Hader and Sterling K. Brown hosting?

Share in the comments below, and remember that Charles Barkley is hosting the March 3 edition of the series.

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