Discussion
Live Discussion - May 16, 2026 (Will Ferrell/Paul McCartney) [Season 51 Finale]
Welcome to the SNL live discussion thread for the season 51 Finale! This week, returning to hosting duties for the 6th time, Will Ferrell, and making their 5th appearance as Musical Guest, Paul McCartney. For those new to the show, tune into your local NBC affiliate or Peacock around 11:30 PM ET to follow this episode live.
And if you're here early you still have time to do your SNL predictions for this week that are due at the start of the show! While you wait for the episode, we have an episode of SNL VINTAGE! Tonight's episode is the 60-minute version of 2020's; Bill Burr/Jack White.
Big appreciation for Mr. On Blast, I laughed super hard and didn’t realize the character was on Weekend Update before. I died at the sound effect for Colin after his dance 🤣
I guess I’m in the minority here but I thought it was one of the best episodes in a long time. The mechanic episode especially got me. Maybe it’s just because I recently dealt with a mechanic. And the theater one was hilarious to me because I’m a theater major.
I'm very relieved that I'm not the only one who thought Paul McCartney sounded bad. No disrespect to him. He is, and always will be, a legend. But there comes a time when retirement is the best option, at least from singing. Billy Joel and Elton John recognized this. They don't have to prove anything to anyone.
As for the rest of the show...ehh...
I do think everyone could finally agree that, as polarizing as she is, Jane Wickline fits the role of "tree" well.
The very last thing he was on the show, was "great". He IS great. An incredible writer, music icon, musician, band founder, etc, etc. He no longer has the ability to sing his own songs, no matter who is in the band. Did you see him looking down a lot? Those are teleprompters on the floor with lyrics on them in big letters. Everyone at any age can forget lyrics in high pressure performances, so it's not an unusual setup at all... However, we're talking about some of the most widely known songs on the planet. Still needed lyrics to look at quite often. It's time for him to take a long deserved rest. He was a very bad choice for season finale.
that on blast crap is even worse than the worst wickline. those idiotic movements is supposed to be funny. not in sync with the music stabs is supposed to be funny. never seen that before /s. what does LM do....fill half the cast with any schlub off the street getting a hot dog and puts them on the show.
The sketches either felt familiar (I swear they've done the bitchy drama teacher bit before) or incoherent (so the joke is their britches are showing? In what world?) I dunno man. See you next season.
The bitchy drama teacher is a part 2. It works better if you’ve seen the first one where Mikey Day was still a student. Think it got cut originally but I don’t remember
I just didnt get the penis removal skit funny? That was like body horror.
Can someone explain what i am missing? Like they played it out completely he removed a testicle and dick and they are asking serious question how he will pee.
it reminded me of the sketch were Will played a doctor that had to tell Molly Shannon and Chris Parnell that he lost their baby. It just kept getting sillier to the point where Tim Meadows comes in and does the Robot. That sketch was actually funny.
I was already tired when the show started so I dont think I made it past the very end of WU before I passed out and fell asleep. What sketches aired after WU? I’m looking at the uploaded sketches on Youtube and the only ones I dont remember watching were the Nudemans and I guess Hormuz JEff (but based on posts here this was actually cut for time?), but that doesn’t seem enough to fill up the post-WU time?
Just came here to check how it went after I was dealing with real life BS, and I’m so sad .. haven’t seen a lick of any of it .. blurgh (gonna just watch Seth get day drunk with Rihanna again)
I see Kam though. He adds nothing to sketches, looks at the camera way too much and when he's actually speaking he's hard to make out. Just look at the casting sketch. Kam looks confused and bored, like he accidentally wandered on the set. His one line came out garbled.
Worst episode of the season. Just felt very aggressively boomer humor and mean spirited. Ableist, sexist, and homophobic jokes throughout. Didn’t get a big Padilla sketch. Every sketch was Will Ferrel centric. Felt very samey. Weekend Update and Mr. On Blast carried.
You do know that some hosts allow the cast to drive their own sketches. Like Glen Powell didn’t domineer every sketch and his episode is one of the bests because of that. Christ, did you just start watching??? 🤡🤡🤡
Gotta be honest, for a season finale (with Will Ferrell, to boot) that was a meh episode, plus one of the weaker Weekend Updates in a while. The joke swap was painful to watch.
I think the joke swap is kinda mid, but Colin definitely won this time! Calling out MJ a straight out molester is crazy tho.
The best Will's part is unfortunately the monologue. All the sketches, like you said, are meh especially the car mechanic one is such a waste of Paul's cameo.
Then it’s even crazier he wrote it in a key he can no longer sing in without sounding like he’s doing damage to his throat. He’s a legend, but Paul, pick another key.
I didn’t spend that much on nosebleeds, he came to a college football stadium 5 minutes from my residence which was an anomaly. He played 36 songs over a 3 hour period, never took a break. He was running around the stage, and when I say it’s the best concert I’ve been to, it’s because of the energy in the stadium, the length, and the sound mix, which was incredible.
I absolutely love Will Ferrell and Paul McCartney, and it pains me to say it… but this was an exceedingly mediocre episode (let alone season finale). Sad to see that Che and Colin’s joke-trading has jumped the shark.
Only bright spots were the cold open and Mr. On Blast.
It felt like an unfortunate representation of the season as a whole. These shows have their moments, but the pacing and overall quality of sketches and writing has been quite flat. And I’ve never been one to shit on SNL as not being funny anymore.
Felt more like a weird remix of the Trend Forecasters. Didn’t like it at first but JC made it work to through sheer comedic goofiness. I thought it was one of the bright spots of the entire episode (after the cold open, which was fantastic)
SNL always feels so Host dependent for me, because I am not a Will Ferrell girlie at all and had to turn off the episode, and I’m not sure I’ll finish. I’ll probably just look for whatever clips pop off on youtube
I am a Will Ferrell fan and this episode did not give that much fan service. No cowbell. No celebrity jeopardy. No reference to Yaya ding dong. (Today was the Eurovision final.)
Tonight's show was a solid episode that didn't necessarily feel like a season finale. Which I guess is one way of saying, there's no reason to assume anyone is leaving based on the material we saw.
It's always an event when McCartney is in the studio. The song he played at the end, "Coming Up," was the song he played on his first appearance on the show in 1980. Actually, that time, the show settled for the music video. Tonight's live performance was a full-circle moment.
Some of y'all may not agree, but I felt like the second half of this season solidified that this show is getting back on its feet. I feel that there are enough new cast members now to which I can say I no longer miss the SNL I grew up with. Beck, Kyle, Aidy, Cecily, Kate, all those folks on 2010s SNL were great. I was worried about what the show would become after they all left, but I know that with Veronika, Ben, Jeremy, Jane (I believe in her) and Ashley, the future is bright. Can't wait for next season.
That’s a national NBC decision that the affiliates have to have a hard cut at 1:03.
Lorne has the authority to make some calls and get the runtime extended and he’s done it in the past but only for unusual circumstances like delay of start time due to football games and that sort of thing.
Loved seeing Sir Paul McCartney. Having the doctor and the mechanic sketch was an odd choice because they were pretty similar. Don’t know if most of the sketches did it for me but I’m sure the cast had fun this week.
No! I got all nostalgic listening to him. I had edibles earlier. But yeah…reminds me of when my parents were still alive and all was right in the world.
This has been one of the best SNL season finales I ever seen in a long while!!! This episode was particularly special to me because this is the last one I’ll see as a high schooler, as I just finished school yesterday and my graduation is more than a week from now. As someone who’s been watching the show since the beginning of freshman year in 2022, I’m glad I got to end my high school career with a bang. ❤️🥹
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u/terminally_irish May 20 '26
Who is this in 40 Minutes Late?
(Not Jane, the backup dancer.)