SNL Scorecard: Bill Burr / Mk.gee

Well, the single-biggest event on American minds this year is now in the rear view: the people have spoken, and for some ungodly reason, they want convicted felon and insurrection inciter Donald Trump back in office. Apart perhaps from the nightly talk show circuit, I'm not sure any aspect of American pop culture had a bigger vested interest in the outcome than Saturday Night Live, which throughout its 49.5 years has played critic, satirist, and occasionally even influencer of presidential politics.

Starting in 2016, in the wake of the first Trump election, SNL began a mini-tradition of Dave Chappelle hosting the post-election episode, a trend that likely only became tradition because of how truly singular that inaugural hosting stint of his was. The show broke from norms this year as Chappelle was not invited back, perhaps related to the ongoing backlash he often brings due to his continued transphobic material (or, more pertinently, perhaps due to his odd friendships with Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, two of the biggest chaos agents in this election cycle). They did, however, invite Dave's longtime collaborator and friend Bill Burr, and at least generally stuck with theme of “established, veteran comedian + New York musical sensation.” This time was Bill Burr and mk.gee, rather than Chappelle and A Tribe Called Quest (as it was in 2016), or The Strokes (2020), or Black Star (2022).

Just about everyone, myself included, fully anticipated the election to weigh heavily on the material in this episode, a fact Burr touched on in his monologue. And yet? Apart from exactly where you’d expect it (in the cold open, the monologue, and Weekend Update), this episode, shockingly, felt completely detached from the election. In fact, having recently watched the Saturday Night movie, I appreciated how much this weekend's episode felt in many ways like a throwback to ‘classic’ SNL. There was timely satire, yes, but some of the most creative and different directions in sketches we’ve had in a while. There was the absurd— even surreal — the direct homage parody, the conventionally silly, and even the heartwarming. And there also was a true underground musical guest who seemed ready for the smaller confines of the studio 8H stage, rather than an established big-name star trying to retrofit a big set in a small space.

Now, lest you might mistake my excitement at the 'throwback' feel as a declaration that this was an instant classic in SNL annals, that could not be further from the truth: a 2016esque post-election masterclass this was not. It was perhaps the most uneven episode yet this season, with exciting and hilarious highs, but several real misses as well. That said, it at least was different than most of the retread content we've come to expect from the famous show in the last several years, and in a week where you could forgive the writers and cast for not having the emotional energy to come up with anything fresh or fun, that is at least something to celebrate.

One note in case you forgot- I know my rankings can seem a little arbitrary, and truthfully there have been times where even I will look back at scorecards and think "Now, why did I rate (x) an 8.5, if (x) from this other episode was only a 7...?". So, both to hopefully clear up my scoring system for any curious readers, but also really to help keep myself consistent, here is the rubric to reference:

10/10: Perfect, no notes

8-9.5/10: Very funny-to-hilarious, definite rewatch

6-7.5/10: Pretty funny-to-funny, but won't necessarily be a rewatch

4-5.5/10: Not BAD, but not particularly funny or memorable

1-3.5/10: Terrible/poor taste, to simply bad/unfunny

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 6th episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

"Bald Guys": 9/10

I was in tears watching this live, and I gotta say, it holds up pretty well the next day, too. I love when SNL goes big— whether that mean go outrageously weird, do a musical number, or in this case, both. And I love it most of all when it’s legitimately funny, and while the conceit of this sketch was already funny enough, the writing of the verses and several of the asides took it to another level. This won’t be for everyone— I’ve already seen one reviewer I typically agree with call it the worst sketch of the night —but I tell ya what, it’s for me.

The Good

“SNL For Trump Cold Open": 8/10

While anger, shock, and heartbreak were all present again, there seemed to be a notably different reaction across America to Trump’s election in 2024 than in 2016, and perhaps nothing better exemplified that different than this cold open. Eight years ago, the first live show post-election opened with a tearful Kate McKinnon, dressed as Hillary Clinton, playing a cover of “Hallelujah” and ending with an emotional call for hope. This time, what started as an apparent somber PSA from cast members quickly turned into a hilarious, snarky mock tribute to our newly elected tyrant. The enraged depression of eight years ago has given way to cynical resignation. Grim, but…funny.

“Sex Rock CD": 8/10

Anything less than 110% commitment would have caused this sketch to fail, especially with the host stumbling over his lines, but James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman and Andrew Dismukes gave 150%, and it made this a surefire future cult classic. Sure, the individual punchlines were few and far between, but the absurd dedication to the 80s ‘sex-rock’ energy made this hilarious from start to finish. We need more content of Andrew as a glam rocker, in my humble opinion.

“Rorschach Test": 7.5/10

It’s safe to say this didn’t go the direction I expected it to go. I was cry-laughing at some of the graphics, and Bill Burr’s reactions to them. It was hard to maintain the level of hilarity once you knew the basic joke, but the writers did a great job upping the ante each time. A somewhat sloppy ending deterred from what was otherwise a very good sketch.

"Buffalo Wild Wings": 7.5/10

Another entry in the pantheon of great Boston mock ads. This one didn’t feel quite as fresh, but still a solid sequence of chaotic Boston energy. The closing scene is what really made this a great bit; that’s the hardest I’ve laughed at an outro in a ling time. 

"The Janitor": 7/10

A play on Good Will Hunting, except where Will keeps getting called out for being a crappy janitor. This one got a little tiresome, but points for doing something different than they usually do, and bonus points for a hilarious JAJ cameo as Robin Williams’ character.

"Weekend Update": 6.5/10

Weekend Update has consistently been one of the best parts of SNL episodes the last couple seasons, but the post-election content from Michael Che and Colin Jost wasn’t nearly as hard-hitting as it could have been, or as I expected it to be. I wonder how much of that was just down to feeling beaten down by the looming prospect of more Trump— but relatedly, I at least enjoyed the gambit of Che snarling through sips of whiskey. Ego Nwodim and Kenan Thompson’s guest appearances matched the energy of this segment: perfectly fine, often entertaining, not the funniest bits by comparison.

“Calling Dad": 6/10

I’m so curious what compelled this sketch, because it was so much more sweet than it was funny. It won’t go down as memorable because the humor was pretty minimal (it’s pretty much just one joke), but I really appreciated it as a nice change of pace, at least, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it came about as a result of the writers just not feeling interested in cynicism this week. 

The... Less-Good

“Trauma Support Group": 5/10

I think I was distracted during this one, both by Bill Burr’s therapist character feeling like an overly stereotypical prototype, and by the pile of delicious looking doughnuts in the background. Anyways, this was decently fun, and Bowen’s and Ashley's full commitment was made for one of the more enjoyable moments on the night. But there wasn’t a whole lot to write home about, and it was yet another sketch with a pretty sloppy ending.

“I Got One": 5/10

It was fun to see featured player Ashley Padilla get a starring role in a sketch for the first time; she had a big night last night! And she sold her part very well, but this didn’t totally work; it was appropriately wacky for a 10-to-1 sketch, but relied a little too much on anti-humor, and it seemed the audience wasn’t totally on board.

“Monologue": 4/10

Given his proximity to Dave Chappelle and the generation he hails from, Bill Burr sometimes gets lumped into a group of ‘problematic, outdated shock comics’ that I don’t actually think he fully deserves. His edgiest stuff often comes with winking self-awareness, and he has a lot more nuanced content than his style of shouting in a thick Boston accent might indicate. That said, I can’t imagine a lot of female viewers (nor myself) loved that he started his election discourse off with pretty lowbrow sexist humor. It was a rambly, almost off-the-cuff monologue from the standup comedian, and not without its funny bits, but wholly unimpressive.

Musical Performances

Mk.gee: 8/10

There was a unique excitement for me about musical guest Mk.gee: it was the first time in a very long while that I had never heard of the musical artist performing on Saturday Night Live. I knew literally nothing about the New Jersey-born, LA-educated, multitalented guitarist and singer. That excitement only grew when he began his set and I realized that the reason I hadn’t heard of him wasn’t because he was another middling name in contemporary trip-pop, but because he occupied a very niche genre of prog rock.

I was riveted through each of his performances, in truth. My first reaction was “Post Malone meets The Police,” and while I stand by that as accurate, there were several more influences, from grunge, from prog rock and more, that were on display. Mk.gee felt a little more confident out of the gate in his first performance of new single “ROCKMAN,” but even the occasionally rough vocals in the second performance, of “Alesis,” only lent to the aesthetic. It was an imperfect set, but a very, very cool one, and one of the more exciting musical directions on this show in a long time.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.58 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.49)