Melissa McCarthy SNL Recap
Holiday cheers and Minion nativity scenes.
An all-timer lit up Studio 8H when Melissa McCarthy returned to host Saturday Night Live for the sixth time — her first time headlining in eight years — and she did not disappoint. From her Groundlings-honed physical comedy to her absolute commitment to character work, McCarthy powered an episode filled with chaotic suburban moms, emotional dinner parties, and a gleefully unhinged UPS worker.
Like so many SNL legends before her, McCarthy brought a theatrical explosiveness and total immersion in her characters that make every sketch feel bigger and funnier. And yes, she brought the mouth horn. During her monologue, the Unspeakable star took the mic and performed a dramatic, fully committed “Carol of the Bells” mouth-horn solo before the cast joined her for a festive performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
And with musical guest Dijon delivering two soulful performances with a 12-person band, the latest episode of SNL was a standout holiday treat.
Here are all the highlights from McCarthy’s episode of SNL.
Pentagon Press Conference Cold Open
SNL opened with a political press conference, featuring a frazzled Pentagon spokesperson (Jeremy Culhane) addressing chaos in Washington. As reporters grilled officials on congressional dysfunction, the camera cut to President Trump (James Austin Johnson) asleep and mumbling bizarre phrases (“Stop Mandami… my rent is frozen…”) in classic SNL fashion. The sketch leaned heavily into deadpan absurdity and escalating tension — exactly the kind of political chaos cold opens were made for.
Watch Pentagon Press Conference Cold Open here.
Melissa McCarthy Monologue
In McCarthy’s monologue, she joked about loving New York during the holiday season before revealing her secret weapon: her musical talent, the iconic “mouth horn.” After some playfully chaotic horn riffs, McCarthy was joined by cast members Marcello Hernández and Kenan Thompson for an impromptu musical number. Together, they launched into “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” giving the monologue a joyful, old-school SNL holiday vibe.
Watch Melisa McCarthy Monologue here.
Weekend Update
Colin Jost and Michael Che dug into the week’s political news, including Trump receiving the FIFA Peace Prize, online conspiracy theories, and confusing MRI scan results. The highlight was Sarah Sherman, appearing as a sloshed, unhinged raccoon who stormed the desk.
Watch Weekend Update here.
Free Sample
At Village Market, McCarthy plays an overly emotional middle-aged shopper who is offered a simple free sample of goat cheese by a polite grocery worker (Culhane). The sample immediately unlocks all her unresolved trauma. She overshares about her childhood, her mother, and her regrets, offering Culhane her mother’s ring “as a token of thanks.” When other customers attempt to get a sample, she physically guards the tray and by the end, she thanks Culhane with an unsolicited kiss, leaving him stunned and the entire market traumatized.
Watch Free Sample here.
UPS Delivery Driver
McCarthy stars as Donna, a UPS employee called into a meeting with management (Sherman and Mikey Day) due to multiple delivery complaints. In security footage, Donna nearly trips on a customer’s front steps, then retaliates by hurling packages at the door, ripping open boxes, dumping garbage onto the porch, and vandalizing the property. Confronted with evidence, Donna fake-faints dramatically, sprawling across the floor while insisting she is a victim.
Watch UPS Delivery Driver here.
A Helping Hand
In this darkly comedic sketch, McCarthy plays an overbearing older neighbor who insists on “helping” a 12-year-old boy named Teddy with his daily struggles. Her version of helping includes tying up his bully and mailing him a firearm as defense, labeled as a “holiday surprise.” Her overprotective kindness takes a sinister turn when police reveal she was living with her mother’s corpse on the couch… for six years.
Watch A Helping Hand here.
Truth or Dare
A suburban moms’ night spirals out of control when a group of neighborhood mothers (McCarthy, Chloe Fineman, Sherman, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline) play an increasingly unhinged game of Truth or Dare. What begins as lighthearted fun quickly dissolves into madness, marital overshares, and wild dares.
Watch Truth or Dare here.
Sunday Supper
All Mark (Andrew Dismukes) wants is to have a wholesome weekly Sunday supper with his friends, but his earnest suggestion triggers pure social panic. Friends played by Sherman and Padilla pile up excuses (no babysitter, family obligations, and general dread), while McCarthy plays Mark’s quietly horrified wife. As Mark’s hope crumbles, he cycles through disbelief, emotional collapse, and a desperate, frantic repetition of “Sunday Supper.”
Watch Sunday Supper here.
Cousin Planet
Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska deliver a surreal musical number answering the question: Where do cousins go when it’s not the holiday season? The sketch is full of cosmic visuals, dramatic harmonies, and existential cousin metaphysics. The rules are 1) no hooking up and 2) the first rule is flexible.
Watch Cousin Planet here.
Dijon Musical Performances
Dijon delivered two performances from his new album Baby. The R&B artist performed “Higher!” and “Another Baby!” with a full 12-person band, including Amber Coffman, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and Nick Hakim, giving the songs a lush, live textured sound unique to SNL’s music stage.
Watch Dijon’s performances of “Higher!” and “Another Baby!” here.
Christopher and Guillaume
A local Yonkers couple, Christopher and Guillaume (McCarthy and Bowen Yang), welcome news reporter Ribbed Con-Dom (Tommy Brennan) into their festively decorated home. The highlight: their Minions-themed nativity scene.
Watch Christopher and Guillaume here.
Watch Saturday Night Live on Peacock and NBC, live coast-to-coast, Saturdays at 11:30p ET. Stream every episode now on Peacock.
