‘SNL’ Hopes Brendan Gleeson and Willow Can Wash Away Lackluster Premiere

Saturday Night Live is back for its 48th season but its premiere with Miles Teller and musical guest Kendrick Lamar fell flat with audiences. Fans and viewers are hoping for the show’s second effort to rebound this season.

Hosting the Oct. 8, 2022 episode is Brendan Gleeson, star of The Banshees of Inisherin, meaning we might get a special appearance by co-star Colin Farrell. The musical guest is Willow, best known as the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Both appeared alongside Chloe Fineman in the promos for this week’s episode, revealing that Gleeson has a unique relationship with Paddington the bear, calling the beloved friend of the late queen a “diva.” There is also some talk about the Irish and Fineman’s fascination with the island nation. This leads to Gleeson and Willow demonstrating an Irish goodbye with the SNL cast member, leaving her standing by herself.

Gleeson already set the stage for a fun episode earlier in the week when taking a wheeled tour of the SNL studios. While it was a body double performing most of the motions, the 67-year-old will convince you he can skateboard.

Still, this season of SNL has a long road to climb to recover from the losses to the cast this summer. Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Kate McKinnon, Melissa Villasenor, Pete Davidson, Alex Moffat, Aristotle Athari, and Chris Redd are all gone from the show. That leaves Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardener, James Austin Johnson, Pinkie Johnson, Michael Che, Sarah Sherman, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Andrew Dismukes, and Fineman.

The show also added four new members to the cast: Molly Kearney, Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker. Fans can likely expect the announcement for the next few guest hosts after week three’s episode featuring Megan Thee Stallion pulling double duty. While the next batch of hosts could be revealed tonight, the reality is the cast could likely take a break before Halloween. Still, keep your eyes peeled for that announcement later.