Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte returns to make hosting debut with musical guest Måneskin
MacGruber!
Will Forte is returning to his old stomping grounds next week to make his Saturday Night Live hosting debut.
Forte will be joined on the Jan. 22 episode by musical guest Måneskin, the Italian rock band that won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with "Zitti e Buoni." The announcement was made during tonight's episode hosted by West Side Story star Ariana DeBose.
This will be Forte's first time hosting the show and his first time back at Studio 8H since popping in for a quick cameo on Nov. 19, 2016 to join host — and his former castmate — Kristen Wiig during her monologue.
The comedian joined the SNL cast in 2002, and was promoted from featured player to repertory cast after just one year instead of the usual two. He stayed on through 2010, becoming a standout despite overlapping with heavy hitters like Wiig, Fred Armisen, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Jason Sudeikis, the latter of whom also returned to host this season.
Throughout his time on the cast, Forte provided a number of utility impressions, most memorably singer Daryl Hall, former vice presidential nominee John Edwards, and taking over as George W. Bush, but it was his character work that really made him shine. He starred in recurring sketches as the Falconer, soft-spoken political candidate Tim Calhoun, and the fan-favorite MacGyver parody, MacGruber.
The popular sketch was turned into a movie in 2010 directed by The Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone and starring fellow SNLers Wiig and Rudolph. Forte recently revived the beloved character for a TV series that premiered on Peacock last December.
Forte continues SNL's run of almost exclusively first-time hosts this season. Aside from Paul Rudd, who joined the Five-Timers Club fronting an episode that was sidelined by the Omicron outbreak, every season 47 host was new to the role, including Sudeikis, DeBose, Owen Wilson, Kim Kardashian West, Rami Malek, Kieran Culkin, Simu Liu, and Billie Eilish, who was the latest to perform double duty as host and musical guest.
SNL airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT.
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