‘SNL’ Cold Open: Oscars 2023 Mocked Ahead of Tonight’s Ceremony

This week’s Saturday Night Live cold open parodied every aspect of the Oscars TV broadcast just a few hours before the show itself. Marcello Hernandez played Mario Lopez while Heidi Gardner played his celebrity co-host in a, eight-minute sketch that touched on all the highs and lows an Oscars telecast can bring. The sketch made some big predictions for the real 2023 Academy Awards, and the odds seem good that at least one of them will come true.

SNL kicked off with a bang this week, trotting out many of the cast members and their best impressions of Hollywood stars. First, Hernandez introduced himself as Mario Lopez of Access Hollywood, while Gardner added: “and I’m either Maria Menounos Kit Hoover, they haven’t told me yet.” The duo poked fun at some of the tropes of Oscars coverage including the focus on designer wardrobes, the corporate sponsorships and the ostensible dislike for viral events that help get the show more exposure. This played perfectly into a conversation about the infamous Will Smith slap at last year’s show, which brought in Kenan Thompson as the new head of security for the award show, Mike Tyson.

After a few jokes about Smith and Chris Rock, Chloe Fineman came out with a spot-on impression of Jamie Lee Curtis – specifically the exuberant version of Curtis that has delighted fans throughout this award season. However, unlike the real Curtis Fineman unloaded some veiled criticism of one of the night’s top contenders, Tar. She drew some big laughs from the crowd as she praised it for being “vague,” “confusing” and “partially in German,” among other things.

After that, Gardner and Hernandez threw to cast members Devon Walker and Andrew Dismukes at a news desk where they recited the odds for bored movie fans looking to place bets on the Oscars. However, their odds were less about who would win the award show and more about tropes that might be fulfilled. Meanwhile, the next guests on the red carpet were Molly Kearney and Mikey Day as Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell, speaking about their movie The Banshees of Inisherin in inscrutable Irish accents. They were followed by another heavily-accented impression – Sarah Sherman as “Michelle Williams’ Jewish acting coach.”

Finally, the last cameo was a pay-off from earlier in the sketch. The hosts announced that they would be joined by Tom Cruise, but instead, they were met with Bowen Yang playing Congressman George Santos disguised as “Thomas P. Cruise.” However, just like a real red carpet broadcast, they teased what would come next – apparently cast member James Austin Johnson as Pinnochio.

You can see last night’s episode of SNL in full on Peacock or Hulu, or simply watch the clips on YouTube, Twitter or Instagram. The Oscars will begin live at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, but some pre-show coverage will begin much earlier.