The 25 Best 'SNL' Sketches From the Last Decade to Watch Before the Season 45 Finale

Top 25 'Saturday Night Live' Sketches
NBC

Before the final, remote episode of Season 45 airs this weekend, check out some of the best 'SNL' moments from the last 10 years.

Saturday Night Live is returning this weekend for it's third "at home" special, which will also serve as the season 45 finale.  

The episode won't feature a guest host or a musical guest, Deadline reports, but will continue the show's new, experimental remote format, featuring pretaped sketches shot by the cast while they self-isolate during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The way SNL rebounded after production was halted has been celebrated by fans -- the first two remote episodes featured a slew of surprising celeb cameos, including Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Paul Rudd, Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny and Adam Sandler, to name a few. All the while, the show has been reminding people how important comedy can be in times of distress.

After all, SNL has been on the air for 45 years, and while the show's cast is ever-changing and comedic sensibilities evolve and transform, it's been a showcase of biting satire, wacky weirdness and impressive talent, no matter the format or obstacles.

To brighten people's days while they're stuck at home, ET is taking a look back to bring you the 25 greatest sketches of the past decade (not in any particular order, because comedy is subjective and also we couldn't agree).


"The Actress"

Emma Stone stars as an aspiring actress who's searching for the deep inner life of her character, "The woman who gets cheated on in the gay porn." It's one of those sketches that finds previously untapped inspiration for SNL and mines it to comedy perfection.


"Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp"

Some of the best SNL sketches of all time are just one extraordinarily-talented cast member doing one simple thing in one hilarious way. (Watch Maya Rudolph make a sketch out of simply singing the national anthem, for another example.) Kristen Wiig's Liza Minnelli Fosse-ing her way across the room to try and turn off a lamp was an instant classic.


"Secret Word (feat. Emma Stone)"

Arguably one of the best celeb hosts of the 2010s, Emma Stone gives Kristen Wiig a run for her money in this return sketch, one-upping Wiig's shallow starlet Mindy Elise Grayson as a dim pageant queen with an unnatural attachment to her ventriloquist dummy.


"Cut for Time: Cast List"

The "High School Theatre Show" sketches are always a delight, but this axed bit might be an even better encapsulation of the teenage dramatic experience. From Will Ferrell's scheming director to each cast member's distinct subgenre of theater kid, it will hit home in a big way for anyone who was (or was friends with others in) drama class.


"The Day Beyonce Turned Black"

Everyone remembers where they were when Beyonce dropped the "Formation" video. SNL hilariously turned that moment into a horror trailer that captured the confusion some fans felt over the singer's bold embrace of her blackness.


"Chonk"

From "Fashion Coward" to "Nike Women's Ad" and more, SNL has had some pitch-perfect takes on women's fashion marketing in recent years, none more so than "Chonk," a spot-on send-up of brands who advertise their acceptance of "your unique body."


"(Do It On My) Twin Bed"

This hilarious music video sings of the universal plight of bringing your boyfriend home to your family's house for the holidays, but having to get busy in your unchanged childhood bedroom. The women of SNL followed this up with the brilliant sequel "Back Home Ballers" a year later.


"Star Wars: Undercover Boss"

Kylo Ren (guest host Adam Driver) goes undercover as Matt, a radar technician on the Starkiller Base -- although the murderous commander has a hard time keeping his infamous temper in check.


"Totino's"

Vanessa Bayer's nameless housewife has starred in several commercial parodies about providing pizza rolls to her "hungry guys," But it wasn't until Kristen Stewart's Sabine showed up for the big game that she got a snack of her own.


"A Girls Halloween"

Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant and Vanessa Bayer play three tragically optimistic young women whose plans for a fun girls' night on Halloween go inevitably awry (largely thanks to booze).


"Wells for Boys"

Emma Stone stars in this touching commercial for Fisher-Price's new Sensitive Boy line of toys, including a well for "secrets," a toy balcony "for when they're ready to announce something," and a broken mirror to "examine the complex contradictions of their being."


"Welcome to Hell"

The women of SNL, along with guest host Saoirse Ronan, use an insanely catchy pop beat to address #MeToo, sexual harassment and how none of this is new, even if most men are only now realizing it. 


"Papyrus"

Ryan Gosling plays a man who is deeply haunted and obsessed with the fact that Avatar's graphic design team chose Papyrus as the film's logo font. 


"Meet Your Second Wife"

In one of the smartest game show sketches in recent SNL memory, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the titular show, in which married men (whose wives are in the audience) meet the young women who will one day become their second spouses. The fear and discomfort of the contestants juxtaposed against the hosts' almost vindictive glee is just comedy gold.


"Haunted Elevator"

It wouldn't be a list without David S. Pumpkins. Any questions?


"Black Jeopardy"

This recurring parody has been hilarious in every installment, but it reached its peak of brilliance with guest host Tom Hanks played Doug, a MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporter who proved that there's more that unites us than divides us -- up to a point.


"Live Report"


Sometimes, some couples just don't seem to make a whole lot of sense no matter how hard you try to figure it out. 


"Weezer"

This delightfully bizarre and truly niche sketch features two people at a dinner party (played by the perfectly paired Matt Damon and Leslie Jones) getting into a heated and very specific argument about which of them is a bigger Weezer fan.


"Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney"

It might seem like an easy game, but after watching "Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney," there's a good chance you'll never be able to pick them out again without second guessing yourself.


"Grouch"

SNL has made a lot of movie parodies in its day, but few stick with you quite like Grouch, which gives us the gritty, nihilistic origin story of Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch, in the style of Joker. Also, David Harbour's performance is so much more powerful than it had any reason to be, and you walk away almost wishing this was a real movie.

"Santa Baby"

Part Natural Born Killers, part Drive, with a dose of A Christmas Story, "Santa Baby" follows a two lovers (Ryan Gosling and Vanessa Bayer) who still believe in Santa and get very angry at people who don't take Christmas seriously enough.


"Recall the Kid Mayor"


When a small town elects a 4-year-old as their mayor, his opponent takes out an attack ad. Few things are as funny as petty jealousy and James Franco brings a manic anger that really sells the whole sketch.


"Sump'n Claus"

Sump'n Claus isn't keeping track of who's naughty or nice. No matter how bad you've been, "Everybody's Gettin' Sump'n."


"Sports Announcer"

Chance the Rapper's Lazlo Holmes, a sports correspondent who is forced to cover a hockey game for the first time, despite knowing nothing about the sport, and cannot believe how cold it gets.


"Close Encounter"

Ryan Gosling makes another appearance on our list as one of a trio of friends who are being interviewed by government scientists after getting abducted by aliens. While Gosling's uncontrollable laughter fit is a highlight, Kate McKinnon's unflappable deadpan and flawless timing makes this sketch a true timeless classic.

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