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    ‘The Interview’: Nate Bargatze Doesn’t Mind if You Think He’s an Idiot

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    It’s often the case that when stand-up comedians seize the public’s attention, it’s because they exude a sense of danger. They say what others don’t have the nerve to say, about topics others won’t raise, in language others never use. There’s an aura of transgressive truth-telling around this type of comedy star, best exemplified by the likes of Richard Pryor, Chris Rock and Hannah Gadsby — people who met the moment fearlessly.In this moment, though, one so sorely in need of fearless truth-telling, Nate Bargatze has rocketed to stardom by doing pretty much the opposite. Low-key and G-rated, his comedy traffics in comfortably relatable stories about the foibles of family life, his confusion with modern living and being a bit of a dim bulb. He is hardly the first clean stand-up to achieve tremendous success (though stylistic antecedents like Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano were able to ride a bygone wave of smash network sitcoms), but he has done it with no hits to his comedic credibility. It’s instructive, I think, that both my mother-in-law, hardly an aficionado of stand-up, and my best friend, a snob when it comes to the form, were excited to learn I was interviewing Bargatze.The gentle and inclusive approach of Bargatze, a 46-year-old Tennessee native, helped make his tour last year the highest-grossing one by a comedian. Two widely praised turns hosting “Saturday Night Live” (you may have seen his viral sketch “Washington’s Dream”) raised his profile outside the world of stand-up. Just this week, CBS announced that he has been tapped to host the Emmy Awards in September. And he is also branching out with a book, the self-deprecatingly titled “Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind,” which will be published on May 6. Such self-deprecation is a Bargatze trademark, but, as I learned, it also conceals some bold ambitions.The stand-up comic discusses having a magician for a father, the challenge of mainstream comedy and his aspirations to build the next Disneyland.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppIt’s interesting to read articles about you since your career has really taken off. The writers always try to explain why you’ve gotten so big. What’s your hunch about that? Talking about relatable things and authenticity. Not that I’m going out for authenticity. But you’re in a world where you have the “Wicked”s and these “Avengers” movies — and that’s great, but there’s not a regular person on a screen anymore. Movies used to be like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “Home Alone”: That’s a regular guy in this movie that you enjoy watching. It’s easier to take in. And you don’t always want to be thought-provoked. That’s something I’ve tried to stay clear of because I’m trying to sell you something. I need you to be able to come and trust that you’re going to get the entertainment that I am showing you that I am selling you.You said you’re selling something, which is an interesting thing to hear. That’s true for just about everyone in the entertainment business, but usually people aren’t explicit in saying it. Why do you think there’s hesitation on the part of some entertainers to say, “I’m selling something”? It’s got this weird self-importance: “I have a platform, so I need to say something.” I’m anti-platform. If I want to give you my opinion and tell you what I think, that’s about me. When I go onstage, I try to remind myself this night’s not about me. If it becomes about me, it’s too much. I can’t handle it. But if I can make it for other people, now I’m an employee and I’m working. It’s not about my self-importance. More

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      ‘White Lotus’ Star Aimee Lou Wood Criticizes SNL for ‘Mean’ Sketch

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      The actress in HBO’s “The White Lotus,” said she had received thousands of messages of support after “Saturday Night Live” mocked her smile.Aimee Lou Wood, a star of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” has criticized “Saturday Night Live” for a sketch that mocked her smile, calling it “mean and unfunny.”Ms. Wood, a British actress, posted on Instagram on Sunday objecting to the sketch, in which the S.N.L. cast member Sarah Sherman impersonates Ms. Wood’s character while wearing large prosthetic teeth.“I am not thin skinned,” Ms. Wood, 31, wrote in one of a series of posts on her Instagram stories, adding that she loves being joked about when “it’s clever and in good spirits.” But “the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth,” she wrote.In a subsequent post, Ms. Wood said she had received “apologies” from S.N.L. but did not elaborate. Representatives for Ms. Wood and NBC, which broadcasts S.N.L., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The sketch, titled “The White POTUS,” imagined the show’s characters replaced by President Trump and members of his cabinet. Ms. Wood, who is from Manchester, England, also criticized Ms. Sherman’s impersonation of her Mancunian accent.After her initial posts, Ms. Wood said that she had since received thousands of messages of support. She shared what appeared to be one such message, which said: “It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970’s misogyny.”The third season of “The White Lotus,” which concluded this month and was the series’s most popular yet, follows wealthy guests and staff members at a wellness resort in Thailand. Among the guests is Chelsea, played by Ms. Wood, a young romantic British woman who is dating an enigmatic older American.Ms. Wood has been celebrated for her natural smile, especially at a time when many celebrities are opting for veneers to achieve “perfect” teeth. But in a recent interview with GQ magazine, she said that the news media’s focus on her appearance in coverage of the most recent season of “The White Lotus” had made her feel uncomfortable, even if the attention was intended to be positive.“It makes me really happy that it’s symbolizing rebellion and freedom, but there’s a limit,” she told the magazine. “The whole conversation is just about my teeth, and it makes me a bit sad because I’m not getting to talk about my work.”“I don’t know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much?” she added. More

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      ‘SNL’ Pokes Fun at Trump’s Tariffs and Economy Chaos in Easter Cold Open

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      Among the sources of all the fun is ‘The White POTUS,” a parody that casts members of the administration in their own twisted playground for the privileged.With Easter approaching, it seemed appropriate for “Saturday Night Live” to resurrect a favorite bit: a scene from the Bible that is interrupted by a comic monologue from James Austin Johnson playing President Trump.This weekend’s broadcast, hosted by Jon Hamm and featuring the musical guest Lizzo, began with what looked like a straightforward re-enactment of the Cleansing of the Temple, with the role of Jesus played by Mikey Day. “This will not stand,” Day said, overturning a money changer’s table. “I will rid this place of all its money.”The action paused so that Johnson could enter as Trump. “Remind you of anyone?” he asked. “Wow. I also got rid of money last week. But instead of one temple, I did whole country. Maybe even the globe. The money’s gone.”Johnson continued: “Hi, it’s me, your favorite president, Donald Jesus Trump, comparing myself to the son of God once again. You know, many people are even calling me the messiah, because of the mess-I-ah made out of the economy.”The financial turmoil, he said, was “all because of my beautiful tariffs — they’re so beautiful. They were working so well that I had to stop them.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      UK Version of ‘Saturday Night Live’ Will Start in 2026

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      A British version of the television sketch comedy program “Saturday Night Live” is set to debut in 2026.“Saturday Night Live” is coming to Britain.A British version of NBC’s late-night comedy sketch show is set to premiere next year on Sky, the broadcaster announced on Thursday. The new edition of the program will have Lorne Michaels, the show’s creator, as executive producer and will feature “a star-studded lineup of hosts.”The familiar catchphrase used to kick off the weekly show will be slightly modified: “Live from London, it’s Saturday night!”Sky said the show would follow a similar format to the American version, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary. It will star a yet-to-be-announced cast of British comedians who will perform sketches, alongside rotating hosts and featured musical acts.“For over 50 years, Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture,” Cécile Frot-Coutaz, the chief executive of Sky Studios, said in the announcement.“The show has discovered and nurtured countless comedy and musical talents over the years, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the ‘S.N.L.’ team to bring an all-British version of the show to U.K. audiences.”The remake comes after years of speculation that a British version of the comedy show was in the works. Versions of the program have already been produced around the world, including in Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, South Korea and Egypt. More

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      ‘S.N.L.’: Trumpeting Tariffs and Predicting a ‘Great’ Depression

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      Cheeseheads and cheesecakes join the punchlines and headlines, and an enthusiastic audience gets a mild scolding for slipping past the censors. Temporarily.It’s not as reliable a metric as, say, the Dow Jones industrial average, but one sign that the U.S. economy is in an unusual place is when “Saturday Night Live” needs someone from its cast to play the secretary of commerce.In the opening sketch of this weekend’s broadcast (hosted by Jack Black and featuring the musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile) the brief part of Howard Lutnick went to Andrew Dismukes. But center stage was given to James Austin Johnson in his recurring role as President Trump — this time, recreating the speech from the Rose Garden where Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on Wednesday. (An introductory “S.N.L.” voice-over declared that, “like everything else so far in his presidency, it was a total home run.”)In his version of the speech, Johnson called “tariff” his favorite word (because it was “short for tariff-ic idea”) and said that tariffs would be the backbone of his “incredible plan” for the economy.Johnson added, “It’s actually even better than a plan because it’s a series of random numbers. Like the numbers on the computer screen in ‘Severance.’ You have no idea what the hell they mean.”He vowed he would MAWA — Make America Wealthy Again — although before that, there could be another phase, Johnson said. “We’re going to do MAGDA. Make America Great Depression Again. You know what? It’ll be gr — it’ll be better than great. It’ll be a fantastic, unbelievable Depression, the likes of which you’ve never seen before.”He added that this Depression would “be so great, we’ll be the ones eating the cats and the dogs.”Presented by Dismukes with a large cardboard placard that turned out to be a page from a Cheesecake Factory menu, Johnson then was handed another board detailing his tariff system.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Why Morgan Wallen’s Abrupt ‘S.N.L.’ Exit Is Being Dissected

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      The pop-country superstar followed his departure from the stage with a social media post about needing to get “to God’s country.”At the end of every “Saturday Night Live” episode, the host, the musical guest and cast members assemble onstage to say goodbye to the audience and viewers at home. While the music plays and the credits roll, they make small talk, shake hands and say their farewells.There’s not much to think about.Usually.Social media has been abuzz since Morgan Wallen, the pop-country superstar who was the musical guest on Saturday, walked offstage while the end credits rolled, leaving behind the host, Mikey Madison, and the rest of the “S.N.L.” cast. It is not clear whether his sudden exit was an intentional message.Here is what we do know.What happened?After Madison made her closing remarks, she turned to Wallen and hugged him. They shared a few words off mic before he walked offstage into the audience past the camera. Shortly after the show ended, Wallen posted a picture to his Instagram stories of a jet with the caption, “Get me to God’s country.”It was unclear what Wallen, who in recent years was rebuked by music industry’s gatekeepers after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur, meant by the statement or why he left the stage.Representatives for Wallen, who performed two songs from his upcoming album “I’m the Problem,” and “S.N.L.” did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday. (Variety cited anonymous sources to say that the exit was an “oops” moment and that it was the route Wallen had used all week.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘S.N.L’: Live From New York, It’s More Military Secrets.

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      Mikey Madison hosts and Luigi Mangione, Squidward and Ashton Hall make appearances.There was no uncertainty as to whether “Saturday Night Live” would offer its own satirical take on the news that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had disclosed attack plans for a U.S. strike on Houthi militia fighters in Yemen during a text chat that mistakenly included the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. It was only a question of how “S.N.L.” would do it.This weekend’s opening sketch featured the cast members Ego Nwodim and Sarah Sherman, as well as the guest host, Mikey Madison, as teenage girls whose group chat was interrupted by an unexpected message, read aloud by Andrew Dismukes: “FYI: Green light on Yemen raid!” he exclaimed.Dismukes, as Hegseth, continued to recite the texts he was sending (“Tomahawks airborne 15 minutes ago”) along with the emojis he was using for punctuation (“Flag emoji, fire emoji, eggplant”).“Do we know you, bro?” Madison asked. “This is Jennabelle.”“Oh, nice,” Dismukes replied. “Jennabelle from Defense, right?”Warned by Nwodim that he was in the wrong group text, Dismukes answered, “LOLOLOL could you imagine if that actually happened? Homer disappear into bush GIF.” He added that he was “sending a PDF with updated locations of all our nuclear submarines.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘S.N.L.’ Reprises the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office Face-Off

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      Mike Myers, as Elon Musk, adds an extra measure of crazy to an already bizarre moment in MAGA-era foreign policy.A shockingly combative White House meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine may have precipitated a diplomatic crisis and signaled a fissure in the longstanding relationship between the United States and Europe. But the incident provided ample grist for the satirical mill on “Saturday Night Live” in the first new broadcast after its 50th anniversary celebration.This weekend’s show, hosted by Shane Gillis and featuring the musical guest Tate McRae, began with a voice-over that declared the meeting between Trump and Zelensky had gone “really, really well,” adding, “Everyone who watched felt at ease and thought, ‘the world is now a safer place.’”The “S.N.L.” replay of this meeting began with Mikey Day as Zelensky and James Austin Johnson in his recurring role as Trump, introducing himself as “President and CEO of Gaza Hotel and Casino” and saying that he welcomed Zelensky to “this incredible trap; it’s going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we’re going to attack him very soon for no reason.”Bowen Yang, playing Vice President JD Vance, chimed in, saying, “Watch out, ’cause this kitty’s got claws.”Turning to Marcello Hernández, who was playing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Johnson asked, “Are you excited to attack our European ally?”Hernández gave a vacant stare into the camera and replied, “Um, no Inglés.”Johnson also said he thanked Zelensky for “dressing like casual ‘Star Trek,’” adding that he loved “Star Trek” because “there’s no D.E.I.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The ‘S.N.L.’ Hosts Who Give 110%

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      A look back at the pro athletes who have tested their fortitude at 30 Rock. “Sometimes it’s a train wreck,” a producer said. Or an incredible surprise.“Saturday Night Live,” which is celebrating its 50th season this year, has had hundreds of hosts. There are the famous actors, the musicians and the comedians, of course. And then there are the professional athletes who are used to performing on fields, tracks and courts, not on a stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.Dwayne Johnson, the wrestler turned movie star known as the Rock, has hosted five times, the most of any athlete. Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion, stiffly sang and danced in a sport coat and jeans in 2005. Chris Evert, the winner of 18 Grand Slam tennis titles, hosted shortly after retiring in 1989, becoming the first of three female athletes to do so. (Nancy Kerrigan and Ronda Rousey are the others.)There is no guarantee an athlete’s monologue will be successful or the sketches funny. But this participation trophy is an exclusive one — only about three dozen have received an invite to flex their coordination and teamwork.A few years ago, Heidi Gardner, an “S.N.L.” cast member and Kansas City Chiefs fan, started a campaign to convince the show’s leadership that the star tight end Travis Kelce had the charisma to succeed as a host. Lorne Michaels eventually agreed, she said, with a catch: The Chiefs had to win the Super Bowl again.One month after they did in 2023, Kelce was making fun of his own monosyllabic motivational speeches and overlooked reality dating show.Lindsay Shookus, who worked on “S.N.L.” for more than two decades, said the show often tries to book athletes after high-profile events, such as the Super Bowl or the Olympics, when they are top of mind for a general audience.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More