SNL Scorecard: Colman Domingo / Anitta
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
It's funny, I don't often peruse the SNL Reddit (r/LiveFromNewYork), but searching for something in the wake of last weekend's episode, I found myself reading through some threads reacting to it, and found many positive comments about the show itself, but also the season in general. I saw more than one poster declaring Season 51 very good, and among the best in recent memory, and I'll confess, that surprised me! Maybe it's my own reaction to this season, or maybe it's the enormous negativity I tend to see about the program on Twitter, but I was living in a bubble of assumption that everyone shared the view this season was a struggle.
Full disclosure: that's my general assessment of this season as a whole, at least. I don't think it's been a bad one, to be clear, but I do think it's been a bit of a struggle. And I also think that's okay! Over the last year or so, I've enjoyed drawing parallels between this show and my favorite club Liverpool, and just as I feel about this struggle of a Liverpool season, I think there are a lot of understandable reasons why SNL has found it difficult to maintain positive momentum this season, I still remain optimistic about the future trajectory, and I'm focused on celebrating the wins where we can take them. One of those wins has been the increased amount-- especially in the calendar year 2026, it feels like --of pure chaotic energy and weird humor that dominates the show. The writing doesn't often feel as whip-smart as it has in the past, but I can absolutely get behind a shift towards good old fashioned absurdity and silliness.
Few episodes this season have better embodied that than Saturday's episode hosted by first-time host Colman Domingo. Domingo and musical guest Anitta were both first-timers, in fact, and I don't think it's unfair to describe them as celebrities with somewhat niche fanbases as well (although Domingo has landed Oscar nominations for Best Actor twice in the last 3 years, so at this point, you're sleeping on him if you're not familiar with his work). Given that fact, and the general so-so yields from this season, I really didn't have much of an expectation for this episode to be great, and as such, found myself very pleasantly surprised! Not only was this a night full of the aforementioned 'chaotic fun,' Colman was an unbelievable host, waltzing into Studio 8H with the confidence of a natural showman, and blending in effortlessly with the cast. It was an uneven episode that petered out at the end, but its highs were among some of the most delightful of the season, and if nothing else, certainly gave us the strongest hosting display in recent memory.
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 17th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
"Fashion District Robbery": 8.5/10
One of the strongest post-monologue sketches all season long, and what a performance from Colman Domingo. He didn’t get a single word wrong. and his timing was impeccable. Great finish, too, which is increasingly rare in a sketch.
The Good
“What If I Told You": 8/10
I just appreciate this so much. This is the exact kind of sketch that you’d see in old-school SNL; you can’t tell me Colman Domingo’s part wouldn’t have been Steve Martin in another era. He once again crushed it, and the costuming department deserves an Emmy for this sketch alone. I love how this one started to lose the audience a little bit, and then wholly won them back with the finish.
“Uneek Kutz Barbershop": 8/10
Well, I can’t say this is a repeat character I expected, especially this soon after his debut, but this was a pretty brilliant use of Marcello’s kinetic energy. And speaking of brilliant use, what a perfect choice to have the infamously dry Jane play the atonal stenographer; I was giggling even before she started reading the transcript. They lost the plot ever so slightly down the stretch, otherwise they had a total winner of a post-monologue sketch.
“Grandpa's Wake": 7/10
Another hilarious premise, another terrific performance from the host. I was already enjoying the hell out of this one, but Colin Jost showing up took me out. This was quietly held together by Ashley Padilla…well, holding it together, as opposed to breaking. Sloppy ending, otherwise this was great work from all involved..
"Weekend Update": 7/10
It’s been a bit of a slump for the co-anchors specifically lately, but Michael Che and Colin Jost came out hot in this edition with some of their best punchlines (especially political punchlines) in a long time. It was fun to see the interplay between Marcello and Kam Patterson for the first time, as they appeared in tandem for the first walk-on guest spot. The writing wasn’t the strongest, per se, and it went on a little long, but I loved their energy. And a hilarious (non-singing) appearance for Jane as well!! Her bit ran out of steam ever so slightly, but she killed it, and as someone who is constantly drowning in horrible Gen Z discourse on Twitter, I enjoyed this immensely.
"Monologue": 7/10
This might be the first host ever where I was more excited to see their wardrobe than hear their monologue. Colman Domingo is famously the best-dressed man in Hollywood, after all, an din that regard, he did not disappoint. I enjoyed this!! If you can’t have a knockout monologue, at least do something memorable, or centered around a theme, which is what he did as he talked about setting “the vibe.” For a first-time host, Domingo was amazingly comfortable, bantering well with cast and audience members alike.
"Trump Making Calls Cold Open": 6/10
The writing on this one was, as is very often the case, not anything to write (ha) home about. But I found it slightly more enjoyable and energetic than a number of their political cold opens over the years, and the entire time this sketch was happening, I was thinking about how happy I am that we were watching cast members and not the endless parade of celebrity cameos from the first era of Trump. So, there’s that.
The... Less-Good
"Artemis II": 5.5/10
This started with so much potential to be great I thought, but just fizzled out. I loved the idea of Colman’s astronaut’s earnest and profound messages getting interrupted to his increasing frustration, but the sketch just didn’t do much of anything other than use the same old interruptions. Good physical comedy, but not memorable at all apart from that.
“Beastomorphs": 5.5/10
The audience didn’t seem to like fart jokes, but I do. Okay yes, this was mostly just dumb, but you know I appreciate a weird little sketch in the 10-to-1 time slot, so I’m not gonna hold its being dumb against it.
“Prep School": 5/10
SNL has a good history of Dead Poets Society knockoffs, so it’s nice to see them return to that well. This one just didn’t really have a good sense of what the joke was supposed to be, I thought. I liked Colman’s performance a lot— per usual — but the writing didn’t seem to know what to do to make this a good sketch.
Musical Performances
Anitta: 7/10
Anitta’s the biggest star you’ve probably never heard of. The Brazilian sensation has blown up globally over the last half-decade, but, save for a couple features with more mainstream artists and a Best New Artist Grammy nom a few years back, she hasn’t really become a household name here yet. So I imagine there was plenty of anticipation for her SNL debut!
She opened with good energy in her first song “Choka Choka,” but it was mostly a dance performance as the vocals were primarily a backtrack, and while her choreography was good, her stage presence seemed surprisingly restrained. I’m glad we got to hear more of her vocals in her 2nd song, “Várias Quejas,” which was a little more chill, with a more straightforward reggaeton beat. This had a sweet sound and lovely set design as well.
Good set overall for the Brazilian star, but I can’t help but feel like for what was one of her bigger TV moments probably ever— at least Stateside —she left a little on the table. She did a perfectly solid job, but I’m not sure any of the many new audience members she was likely reaching came away from the performances going “wow, I NEED to check her out!!!”
OVERALL SCORE: 6.77 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.75)
Heading into final break of the season, here’s where the episodes stand-- keep in mind the episode's overall score factors in the musical performance, so what I considered the funniest isn't necessarily the top-rated overall, etc.:
Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky - 7.30
Ryan Gosling/Gorillaz - 7.10
Harry Styles - 7.09
Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile - 7.05
Melissa McCarthy/Dijon - 6.87
Jack Black/Jack White - 6.85
Colman Domingo/Anitta - 6.77
Sabrina Carpenter - 6.58
Alexander Skarsgård/Cardi B - 6.54
Ariana Grande/Cher - 6.54 (the Alexander Skarsgård episode ranks higher due to a higher 'Comedy Only' score)
Connor Storrie/Mumford & Sons - 6.50
Nikki Glaser/sombr - 6.50 (the Connor Storrie episode ranks higher due to a higher 'Comedy Only' score)
Teyana Taylor/Geese - 6.42
Amy Poehler/Role Model - 6.25
Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen - 6.15
Glen Powell/Olivia Dean - 6.00
Bad Bunny/Doja Cat - 5.91
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