It was a big night for Kristen Wiig on Saturday Night Live as she joined the Five-Timers Club. However, she was welcomed into the elite group by a bunch of mostly Non-Five-Timers Club members.
The actress and comedian kicked off her monologue, saying, “I am so happy to be back, and I am so excited because it is my fifth time hosting. So I’m officially in the Five-Timers Club!”
She then took a moment to acknowledge the sketch comedy show’s band, but shortly after, that’s when the celebrity cameos started, beginning with Paul Rudd, who previously joined the club in 2021.
“I also heard a rumor that you might be doing one of those five-timer sketches featuring awesome celebrity cameos,” Rudd said after popping up in the Studio 8H audience. “So, is there like a script or something I could look at for that?” But unfortunately, Wiig informed the actor that she wasn’t planning on doing one of those skits.
However, that didn’t necessarily seem true as the celebrity appearances continued, next with Matt Damon who stood up in the audience wearing a Five-Timers jacket, although he has only hosted SNL twice.
“Well, first off, big fan. I just want you to know I grew up watching you on SNL,” the actor jokingly told Wiig before she questioned why he was wearing a jacket. “Lorne [Michaels] said the first time I hosted was so good, it accounted for three, and then the second time not quite as good, that only counted for two,” Damon added. “But by my math, that’s five, baby.”
Wiig noted that it “doesn’t really seem fair,” as she earned the jacket by actually hosting five times. She proceeded to ask the SNL creator, “Doesn’t this jacket have any meaning anymore?”
The camera then cut to Michaels standing with Jon Hamm, Martin Short, Fred Armisen and Will Forte, all wearing Five-Timers Club jackets. Wiig asked why they were getting jackets if “none of you have even hosted five times.”
“But together, we hosted five times,” Forte explained before Rudd jumped in, quipping, “Sweet, so we are doing a five-timer sketch.”
Wiig looking disappointed, asked, “What is going on here? I mean, I was really excited about being in the Five-Timers Club, but now it just seems like, I don’t know, it’s not even that special.”
Later during the monologue, after Wiig was serenaded by her fellow actors, Ryan Gosling — who is set to host the comedy show next week — made a guest appearance wearing a jacket, even though he is also not in the elite club. When the Barbie star double-checked with Michaels if he was OK to be wearing the premature Five-Timers jacket, the SNL creator signaled for him not to worry about it.
As Wiig continued to look confused, Gosling finally gave the actress her own Five-Timers jacket.
The star-studded group of former SNL hosts continued to make appearances during other skits throughout the night, including a retirement party sketch, a 1960s office culture parody and more. Raye was also the latest show’s musical guest.
SNL‘s cold open centered on the March Madness mania, notably the women’s tournament ahead of the National Championship game on Sunday. The show’s parody featured TBS’ NCAA basketball team of Ernie Johnson (James Austin Johnson), Kenny Smith (Devon Walker) and Charles Barkley (Kenan Thompson), as well as an appearance by LSU coach Kim Mulkey (Heidi Gardner).
The Five-Timers Club is made up of those who have hosted the sketch comedy show five or more times.