Saturday Night Live entered its 48th season in a pretty precarious position, with the loss of eight seasoned cast members, the addition of four new faces, and a few much-needed improvements. The latest chapter of the show welcomed its fair share of new hosts: Miles Teller, Keke Palmer, Jenna Ortega, and Austin Butler represented a new generation of Hollywood stars, while musical artists like Megan Thee Stallion and Jack Harlow performed double duties, and Brendan Gleeson proved an interesting left-field selection. Tempering this newness, SNL also brought the likes of Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, and the duo of Steve Martin and Martin Short back to Studio 8H. Throughout season 48, the quality of the sketches proved just as varied as the hosting lineup.
It’s sort of fitting that one of the first casualties of the writers’ strike would be a program like SNL, which depends on a group of writers to constantly churn out fresh material. Likewise, the writing staff there is an interesting case to examine in terms of the WGA’s demands in a new age of media consumption from streaming and social media virality. Now that season 48 of SNL has prematurely ended, The A.V. Club has selected the 20 best sketches of the season—each one a prime example of the value writers can bring to a project. If your favorite is not on the list, as always, let us know what we missed in the comments.
This list is in chronological order.