‘SNL’: Leslie Jones Doesn’t Miss the Show ‘at All’

Leslie Jones is back on television this weekend and not on Saturday Night Live. Jones is the new host of ABC‘s Supermarket Sweep revival and is not looking in the rearview mirror anytime soon. Even though Saturday Night Live helped make Jones a household name, the comedian said she does not miss being on the long-running sketch comedy series at all.

“I don’t miss it. At all,” Jones told Entertainment Tonight. The one aspect she missed was working with Kenan Thompson, who means “so much” to her. However, starring in the show was not easy. “That job was hard, man,” Jones explained. “That job was like two jobs and very restrictive too. I wasn’t very free.”

Jones joined Saturday Night Live in 2014 as a writer and soon became a fan-favorite thanks to her appearances on “Weekend Update” as herself. She earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show. She announced plans to leave after Season 44 ended in 2019, sharing the news just days before Season 45 kicked off. In a series of tweets, she thanked SNL creator Lorne Michaels and gave shout-outs to her co-stars, including Thompson, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, and Colin Jost.

“I will miss holding it down with Kenan every day; I will miss Cecily’s impression of me making me laugh at myself often, I will miss Kate’s loving hugs and talks when I needed,” Jones wrote at the time. “And of course Colin, you porcelain-skinned Ken doll. I will miss all my castmates!!” Jones said she would especially miss being at table reads with her friends. “Everyone needs to know Leslie Jones couldn’t have done any of the things I did without these people,” Jones wrote.

Jones now lives in Los Angeles, where she filmed Supermarket Sweep. She told ET she is in complete control of the show and called the job a “comedian’s dream come true.” There were small changes made to the show’s format, and the new episodes were filmed under strict coronavirus pandemic guidelines. “We have a lot of bonuses, we’re giving money away to essential workers every week,” Jones added.

The original Supermarket Sweep debuted in 1965 and has been revived several times since then. The most popular edition in the 1990s revival and some episodes are available to stream on Netflix. Incidentally, Jones auditioned for the show before she was famous and said hosting it fulfills her lifelong dream of being on the show. The Jones-hosted edition debuts on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.