SNL
Saturday Night Live will kick off its 40th season Saturday night, with Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt taking over hosting duties and pop starlet Ariana Grande providing musical entertainment. Both Pratt and Grande are more popular than ever and are big, bold selections to start the year. Here are 10 other hosting and music duos that could make SNL’s 40th both relevant and historic.
Host: Eddie Murphy, Music: Kanye West — I guess I’ll start this list off with a bang. Having Eddie Murphy, an SNL legend who has never hosted due to some long-lasting negativity, as host would be iconic. Murphy can no doubt still produce some laughs, even at 53, and Kanye would assure this episode would be one of the show’s strongest in the last couple of years.
Host: Shailene Woodley, Music: Dave Matthews Band — Woodley is arguably the biggest up-and-coming actress in Hollywood, as the 22-year-old’s last two movies (Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars) made nearly $600 million combined. In addition to being known for her emotional acting style, Woodley is notorious for her relaxed bohemian lifestyle outside of the set. Dave Matthews Band has the perfect casual, worldly style to match Woodley’s vibe. This would be one talented but chill episode.
Host: Miles Teller, Music: The Roots — Another rising star who would be perfect for an SNL hosting gig is Woodley’s friend and two-time co-star Miles Teller. The versatile funnyman has shown that he can do both drama and comedy with ease. SNL would be smart to feature Teller before he completely blows up. Pairing him with The Roots, a simplistically great and extremely convenient (the band films The Tonight Show in the same building) would also be wise.
Host: Neil Patrick Harris, Music: Charli XCX — Now that How I Met Your Mother is over, America needs to use other resources to get their NPH comedy fix. The Broadway star would be perfect to pair with Charli XCX for what would surely be an upbeat and hilarious addition to season 40. One could even say it would be legen…wait for it…
Host: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Music: Drake — Both of these people are wildly popular right now and, for some unknown reason, I just really want them to be friends. Putting them on an episode would almost certainly assure that, considering Drake’s propensity to act like he’s friends with everyone, and it would be an entertaining combination.
Host: Fred Armisen, Music: Bleachers — Fred Armisen has only been away from SNL for a season, but that’s one season too long. Bringing him back to host is a no-brainer, and I’m sure that Bleacher’s “I Wanna Get Better” will have fully caught on enough by some point this fall to score them the musical guest slot.
Host: Emma Watson, Music: Vampire Weekend — How many sketches would it take to break the Internet if Emma Watson hosted SNL? One? Two? Just the monologue? Hopefully we can find out.
Host: Steve Carrell, Music: Weezer — Steve Carrell will surely be on the press circuit promoting his dark, Oscar-bound drama Foxcatcher this fall, and SNL would be the perfect destination for him. Reintroducing his funny side amid what looks to be a dark performance in the movie will remind everyone of his versatility and temporarily fill the Michael Scott-size hole in my heart. Weezer will be releasing Everything Will Be Alright in the End, their first studio album in four years, on Oct. 7 and would be a great music choice.
Host: Elisabeth Moss, Music: Haim — Peggy Olson on SNL! This would be an amazing way to promote the end of Mad Men and would hopefully result in some Jon Hamm appearances. Moss is on her way to the top of Hollywood and she seems like she could be hilarious. Haim would be a nice musical addition to make this an episode full of powerful female artists.
Host: Beyoncé, Music: Jay Z — Please. A Bey and Jay Christmas episode of SNL? Just please. Prove to me that dreams can come true, NBC.
Who do you think would make a great host or musical guest on SNL this year? Let us know in the comments section.