‘SNL’: Ariana DeBose plays fan drafted into NBA after entire Sacramento Kings team gets COVID

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The Sacramento Kings had rough game on “Saturday Night Live.” And so did their fans – who were forced to play for them after every member of their team tested positive for COVID-19.

During a sketch on this week’s episode of the NBC show, the Kings were set to take on the Brooklyn Nets in a NBA game. That is, until the Kings’ entire team, along with most of their coaching staff and trainers, came down with COVID.

As a result, the Kings’ players were pulled from fans or support staff in the arena.

Suffice it to say, the game was an uphill battle for the Kings’ stand-ins, who were down 268-1 at the half. One fan-turned-player was Alicia Miller, played by “SNL” host and “West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose.

“This is like the craziest girls’ night ever,” she said, adding that she scored the Kings’ only point so far by making a free throw. “It was underhand, too!”

But Miller admitted she wasn’t entirely up to speed on the rules of basketball, after getting called for traveling 39 times.

“I keep forgetting to bounce the ball,” the fan confessed and was ejected from the game for stopping to take a selfie with Blake Griffin.

“I had to,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would see him again. You know, you gotta like, shoot your shot.”

Sounds like a job for Spider-Man: Joe Biden blames omicron, inflation and everything else on ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ on ‘SNL’

Another amateur forced to play against pros was Riley Beckwith, played by “SNL” cast member Mikey Day.

“I was confident going in, because I play pick-up b-ball at my gym with a bunch of white guys my size,” he said. “But being out there against the Nets, I realized that basketball is an impossible sport played by giants and gods.”

Earlier in the show, DeBose, who just won a Golden Globe for her role as Anita in “West Side Story,” sang a medley of songs from the Broadway adaptation with Kate McKinnon, who crashed DeBose’s monologue to join her for “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Something’s Coming” and “America.”

“I’ve been on Broadway,” McKinnon assured her and proclaimed “West Side Story” her “favorite show.” “Like, the sidewalk.”

More ‘SNL’: Elmo attempts to murder viral nemesis Rocco the rock in explosive ‘Weekend Update’

SNL host Ariana DeBose learns the limits of a fresh start in this week’s promos

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“You know what they say, ‘New year, new me,’” is how Saturday Night Live star and Emmy nominee Bowen Yang kicked off the previews for this week’s first new show of 2022.

Sporting a bleached blond ’do as evidence of his attempt to kick off the new year with a bang, Yang’s hopeful enthusiasm might be an echo of SNL’s as a whole since the show’s planned big finish of a Paul Rudd-hosted Christmas 2021 blowout was scuttled at the very last second by the Omicron variant.

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Alongside this week’s host Ariana DeBose and musical guest Jack Antonoff of Bleachers, the newly blond Yang proclaimed his readiness for a whole new Yang (and SNL) for this first show of the third year under a global pandemic.

“So it’s mostly the hair?,” DeBose prodded, with Yang admitting that, yes, that’s pretty much all that’s actually new. Still, Yang’s been having a solid season so far (studio-emptying pre-Christmas bug-out notwithstanding), and DeBose, coming straight off her West Side Story triumph, looks ready and willing to inject the show with some Broadway-quality live energy.

In his review, A.A. Dowd notes of the scene-stealing singer and actor, “Ariana DeBose offers a rainbow of conflicting emotions as Sharks moll Anita, her brassy confidence shattering into heartbreak.” (Plus, anyone who had the guts to step into Rita Moreno’s dancing shoes is just the right choice to kick 2022 off with a bang.)

As for this week’s (fingers crossed) return to live comedy, it’s likely SNL will have plenty to say about the unprecedented, show day evacuation and resulting clip show that sent the 2021 half of Saturday Night Live’s 47th season off to an appropriately sputtering end.

Look for Kenan Thompson and Michael Che to lord it over everyone else that they were the only two cast members asked to stay behind on the belatedly abandoned and creaky ship that was episode 9. Plus, Kate McKinnon’s finally back from her Tiger King hiatus, meaning that—Omicron willing—there’ll be a full complement of comedy sailors on deck for DeBose hosting debut.

Ariana DeBose SNL Sketches Ranked: Elmo vs Rocco, Urkel Gets Bel-Air Treatment

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NBC

James Austin Johnson’s President Biden has one solution to the rampant spread of the Omicron Covid variant: “Stop seeing Spider-Man.” – plus, “SNL” again cut its best sketch for time, but thankfully it lives on online.

“Saturday Night Live” kicks off a new year without a major Covid outbreak shutting down the show. It did, however, cost the show its original musical guest, with Bleachers stepping in for Roddy Rich after he tested positive.

As we’ve seen throughout the season, it seems to be a hit-or-miss game each week as to which cast members will be on the show. Kate McKinnon, who missed most of the start of the season, was there, but missing were her veteran female cohorts Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong.

We also didn’t see Punkie Johnson or Aristotle Athari (though he might have had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in a sketch that was cut for time – and wound up the best sketch of the night). With a cast this big, Lorne Michaels giving them some flexibility is probably helping with fatigue and burnout.

“West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose was the host and she brought as much of her talent as she could, but it wasn’t enough to make up for a night that was lackluster overall, with several sketches just feeling like they kept going and going and going.

Usually, “SNL” comes back from a long break refreshed, regrouped and stronger than ever, so maybe it was the Covid outbreak that left them rattled. A lot of tonight’s sketches felt half-baked, like there was a potentially great idea in there, but no one took the time to finesse it into truly funny material.

Don’t get us wrong, there were a few very strong sketches, including a hilarious appearance by Chloe Fineman as Elmo taking that viral feud with Rocco to the next level. James Austin Johnson continues to refine his Joe Biden, while we got to see a very unexpected Pete Davidson’s Biden, as well. Blame Spider-Man and the multiverse – Biden did!

We also got to see Chris Redd settle into a hilariously bizarre and obnoxious parody of New York mayor Eric Adams. When doing a local politician like this, the impression has to be even better to appeal coast to coast even to people less familiar with the original, and Chris is well on his way to pushing this one to that level.

As usual, we’re ranking all the sketches from worst to first, including the Monologue, Cold Open, “Weekend Update” and any sketches that were cut for time but made their way online. We’ll skip the musical guests, because they’re not usually funny – unless Ashlee Simpson shows up. We wrap up with a look at the cast-member who had the strongest week.

NBA on TNT

A silly premise that could have been funny if it hadn’t gone on so damned long! Having an entire NBA team out with Covid replaced with fans and staff is great, and we could have gotten some fun visuals or moments. There was maybe one or two legitimate laughs throughout. Having Bowen Yang portray Yao Ming as a guest panelist added nothing, just as he did almost nothing. It was as if the cast was vamping for time because they had just way, way, way too much of it.

Monologue: Ariana DeBose

A monologue that turned into a drawn out tribute to Broadway and “West Side Story” featuring Kate McKinnon, who was definitely hamming it up. She did get Ariana to break and laugh at one point, but the overall monologue ultimately fell flat. It was neither impressive as a musical showcase or funny. It didn’t even work as an icebreaker to get the audience at ease with Ariana taking the lead for the next 90 minutes. We did get to see that she can sing, which we already knew, and she was comfortable in front of an audience. But this isn’t an audition; we wanted to enjoy this for what it was.

Sappho

Another sketch that went on a bit too long, with Ariana DeBose and Kate McKinnon playing it very straight as two lesbian “translators” faking translations of supposedly lost Sappho works from the Ancient Greeke isle of Lesbos. Instead, they were airing dirty laundry from their own personal lives. Mikey Day was shoehorned in as the straight man (so to speak) who was into it, then doubtful, then with a few Indigo Girls lyrics all in. We get what they were going for her, but it just wasn’t strong enough or funny enough. If we’re going to translate this many lines in the sketch, they need to be a lot stronger and edgier than this, or at least read with more oomph. Kate tried to save the sketch with body language, but even that wasn’t enough.

New Governess

Of course there was going to be a musical parody with Ariana DeBose hosting, but this “Sound of Music” take was pretty terrible. The only part of the song lyrics that we enjoyed was when they used Queen Latifah for La, Ti and Fa (because that’s pretty great) and when Kenan Thompson came in at the end with his fast-food inspired performance. The rest of it dragged on way, way, way too slowly. If Ariana was going to be incompetent and stupid as the new governess, they should have gone further into that for bigger laughs. This was a little too hesitant most of the way, which made it feel overly long.

Cold Open: Spider-Biden

You have to give it to Joe Biden (James Austin Johnson). He knows exactly what the problem is in America and why we can’t get a grip on Covid. We keep going to see the new Spider-Man film. James has really settled in well to this roll, taking a commanding lead through the nonsense of arguing that it’s all Spider-Man’s fault, so to speak. He never loses character, keeps it fun and engaging and even makes you think. Could we be living in a multiverse? “Doesn’t that make more sense than whatever the hell our current world is?” We’re just saying, points were made.

Winter Formal

While it dragged a bit at times, we still found ourselves laughing pretty steadily throughout. Pete Davidson seemed to be channeling Adam Sandler in his line deliveries, while Chloe Fineman was over-the-top as his wife. Andrew Dismukes, though, was all in as their doofy son who’s awkward in every way possible. That he was part of their pitch for selling high school dance ensembles as the date that would never deflower your daughter was pretty clever, but it was the attention to detail like the stuff on his lips, his random obsession with “Get Low” and the horrors when he turned around that really made his character work even better than his parents. The testimonials didn’t really add as much as we would have hoped.

Kitchen Staff

A character driven piece with Heidi Gardner’s messed up use of “lurr” breaking the other three performers. Ariana DeBose was having a hard time keeping it straight with James Austin Johnson’s commitment to his redneck and Andrew Dismukes leaning heavily into his accent. By the time Alex Moffat came into the scene, the nonsense talk “at the end of the day” was nonstop and we were impressed that everyone was able to keep with the semblance of a plot through to the end. The whole thing was deeply weird, but had a strange sweetness to it underneath.

Eric Adams Press Conference

We needed Chris Redd’s version of new New York mayor Eric Adams to be even more unhinged with his responses, and he finally got there when responding to Heidi Gardner asking about unskilled workers being unable to perform desk jobs. There was too much early emphasis on swagger, which worked fine as an intro to his confidence and bravado. But the meat of the comedy was in him not knowing how to talk without putting his foot deeper in his mouth. Chris did a great job of constantly backtracking and rephrasing and finally blaming everyone else for him “misquoting” himself. Chris does overconfident idiocy better than anyone and when he finally got rolling in this character we were loving every ridiculous thing he said and did.

Urkel

Inspired by “Bel-Air,” this gritty, street level “Modern Family” is actually pretty damned clever, though we’re a little surprised there was no place for Punkie Johnson in this one (Mrs. Winslow, anyone?) considering every other Black cast member was in it, including the host. Still, Chris Redd was great in the title role, mixing pathos with a healthy does of “Did I do that?” Even the review quotes for this fake trailer were funny. It was the obvious joke after “Bel-Air” dropped its trailer, but it was still executed beautifully.

Weekend Update

Colin Jost set up a brilliant switcheroo with a picture of Reagan while talking about a president the GOP still admires before switching it up for Jefferson Davis while talking about Biden’s plummeting approval rating. Michael Che went in savagely on Mitch McConnell, but then again, that’s low-hanging fruit on all these comedy shows.

Even better, though, was Colin bagging himself over his whiteness not once but twice. Michael Che courted controversy by making fun of Stewart Rhodes (Oath Keeper head honcho) eyepatch – has he already forgotten what happened when Pete Davidson did this to Dan Crewnshaw in 2018? “That wasn’t an eye joke.”

After a longer than usual joke segment – which was probably the best of the season – Chloe Fineman came out with a fantastically disturbing Elmo impression. We were dying at the puppet arms. And while we all knew that Rocco was going to come out to continue their viral “Sesame Street” feud, we were hoping for more in the culmination of Elmo’s growing rage (complete with fire framing the screen). Don’t get us wrong, this was great, but we were hoping it would go even darker.

Cut for Time: All on Me

The best sketch of the night doesn’t even make the live show, which proves that some of those sketches were going on longer than they needed to. This pre-taped video features a great rap flow from Chris Redd, and a solid dance hook. Even though the story of a rapper overspending has been played out time and again, it’s how this take brings it that works so well. Ariana DeBose does a great job of offering a fun twist as his girlfriend – with a great sound all her own – while Kenan and the real-life Freddie Gibbs just keep making things worse for him. We love a great “SNL” original track and this is right up there.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Chloe Fineman killed us with her work as Elmo, and she was definitely all in opposite Pete Davidson in the “Winter Formal” sketch. But the night’s biggest workhorse also had the most successful night – especially if we include the cut-for-time sketch.

Chris Redd might have taken a few minutes to land his Eric Adams impression, but by the time we were halfway through, he had us all eating out of the palm of his hand. It was a masterfully goofy performance, and totally removed from what he did with his dark take on Urkel.

Then, toss in a solid comedy-rap track that made its way online, as well as several supporting roles, and Chris was killing it on the night, even if he was one of so many cast members relegated to asking questions in way too many sketches that featured people asking questions. Seriously, what was up with that?

No wait, that was a question. We’re not looking to encourage this type of behavior to continue. Strike it from the record.

Ariana DeBose Sings ‘West Side Story’ Songs with Kate McKinnon During ‘Saturday Night Live’ Monologue - Watch!

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Ariana DeBose is making her Saturday Night Live debut!

The 30-year-old actress, who played Anita in West Side Story, hosted the NBC sketch comedy series for the first time on Saturday (January 15).

During her opening monologue, Ariana was joined on stage by SNL cast member Kate McKinnon.

Since Kate‘s such a big fan of West Side Story, she and Ariana started singing a bunch of songs from the musical, including “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “America.”

At one point, Ariana showed off her Mamba dancing skills, but when it was Kate‘s turn to dance, she jokingly said, “oh no, they already know I dance.”

Click inside to watch Ariana DeBose’s monologue…

If you missed it, Ariana DeBose recently explained why she had to say “No” to director Steve Spielberg, who directed the West Side Story remake, during her audition!

West Side Story, Ariana DeBose, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, More Win 2022 Golden Globes

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West Side Story, Ariana DeBose, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, More Win 2022 Golden Globes

The best film and TV of 2021, according to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has been revealed as winners for the 2022 Golden Globes were announced January 9. Among them were West Side Story for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, along with the film’s stars Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose for Best Performance By an Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Also taking home honors were tick, tick…BOOM! star Andrew Garfield for Best Performance By An Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Pose leading lady Michaela Jaé Rodriguez for Best Performance By an Actress in a Television Series - Drama. The latter has reportedly made history by becoming the first transgender performer to win the coveted award.

Other notable theatre alumni winning Golden Globes this year for their performances on screen were Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Tony nominee Jean Smart (Hacks), and Succession stars Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook. Encanto, featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, won Best Motion Picture – Animated and Kenneth Branagh took home Best Original Screenplay for his semi-autobiographical film Belfast.

As previously announced, the ceremony, always a lightning rod for conversation between the boozy annual ceremony and protests surrounding the HFPA’s equity and inclusion, was a subdued affair this time around. An untelevised press event announced the winners after NBC pulled the plug on an option to air following a report by The Los Angeles Times.

For a complete list of winners, click here.