'SNL' Recruits John Mulaney and The Strokes for Halloween Episode

Saturday Night Live is bringing out the big guns for its Halloween episode, which will also mark [...]

By John Connor Coulston

Saturday Night Live is bringing out the big guns for its Halloween episode, which will also mark the show's fifth straight episode without a break. The sketch comedy series has tapped comedian John Mulaney to host, in what will be his fourth outing in that role. He won't be alone, of course, as the night's musical guest will be New York City's own The Strokes.

Mulaney, one of the show's writers from 2008 to 2012, has hosted each of the past three seasons, which additional cameos (and two Emmy nominations for his work) along the way. This will be the second time he's hosted the show in 2020, following his previous outing on Feb. 29. David Byrne served as the musical guest for the occasion, which was the show's next-to-last in-studio show before transitioning to "At Home" episodes for the remainder of Season 45. (Daniel Craig and the Weeknd followed Mulaney and Byrne on March 7.)

Mulaney spoke out about the news on Twitter after it was announced on the latest broadcast. "Three things define New York City: SNL, the Strokes, and Ed Koch," Mulaney wrote, referring to the former U.S. representative and NYC mayor. "Koch is dead, so they got me. I am so goddamn excited. 4th time up. Wow and wow and wow."

The Strokes also shared the news on their social media channels, albeit without any comments. Only Albert Hammond Jr., the band's guitarist, tweeted thoughts on the upcoming appearance, writing, "Holy S—!! NYC!! We're BACK!!"

The band has played SNL three times, in 2002, 2006 and 2011. The band's frontman, Julian Casablancas, also appeared in one of the show's most beloved digital sketches of the 2000s. He teamed up with The Lonely Island for the comedic song "Boombox," which premiered during an SNL broadcast. (The Lonely Island's Andy Samberg was a cast member, and Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone served as writers, at the time.)

The band will likely be appearing to promote their 2020 album The New Abnormal, which came out in April. Singles from the project include "At the Door," "Bad Decisions" and "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus."

Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The full episodes are available to stream on Hulu the next day, with individual segments posted to YouTube after the show airs. Keep an eye on PopCulture.com for more coverage of SNL's 46th season, including highlights from Mulaney and the Strokes' episode.

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