Saturday Night Live preview: John Mulaney – Thomas Rhett expectations!

Tonight, you’re going to have a chance to see a new episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by John Mulaney … and our expectations for it are largely through the roof. Maybe that’s unfair — it’s not even something that Mulaney even wants! That’s what we get a sense of in the video below, as Kate McKinnon tries to proclaim that his monologue is going to be bigger than the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The reason for all of the hype, though, is fairly simple — Mulaney is a gifted performer. Beyond just that, he has some great experience hosting SNL already. It wasn’t that long ago that he was on the program, and we would argue that the defining sketch from that episode was “Diner Lobster.” This is the one where John plays a waiter at a diner in which someone actually orders the lobster — something that basically never happens. This leads to the lobster (Kenan Thompson) coming out on stage in his tank to give a riveting performance of “Who Am I?” from Les Miserables. It’s so bizarre, so ridiculous, and yet it actually works in a compelling, meaningful way. There’s no reason why this performance should work anywhere near as well as it does, but it’s one of those genuinely re-watchable SNL sketches that you can just watch a few times a month and smile during.

As you prepare for this weekend’s episode, we suggest that you check out the video below featuring Mulaney and Colin Jost talking about “Diner Lobster” — apparently, this stems from an idea that they first worked on almost a decade ago, but it didn’t make it to the air until John actually came back to host! The path to glory for some SNL sketches is almost as interesting sometimes as the sketches themselves.

Related SNL video! – If you want to also check out our own discussion of all things SNL, we have our video reaction to the most-recent episode at the bottom of this article. If you enjoy this, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for some other insight … and remember to also view our series playlist.

So what else are we hoping for?

It’d be nice to get another iteration of “John and Pete Davidson at the movies” after the two did a wonderful and weird bit on “Weekend Update” earlier this year in which they reviewed Clint Eastwood’s recent movie The Mule. It’s a sketch in which Pete also used in order to mock his own recent mental-health struggles and it generated a lot of headlines after the fact. The latest iteration doesn’t have to be as dark, but clearly John and Pete are friendly and have a great relationship with each other.

At this point, you may as well consider Mulaney an honorary cast member — he’s earned it thanks to his time as a writer, coupled with his recent appearances on the show. We’re mostly shocked in retrospect that he never made it as a part of the regular cast.

When it comes to musical guest Thomas Rhett, we’re not a country music guy. We just hope that his performances are the sort that have broad appeal for both his fans and casual viewers alike. The best country music brings everyone in and makes you feel like you’re at one big party.

Excited for John Mulaney and Thomas Rhett’s SNL episode?

Be sure to let us know in the comments! We’ll be back tonight with a full review for all that transpires. (Photo: NBC.)