‘SNL’ Tonight: Jason Sudeikis and Brandi Carlile Tease Spooky New Episode

Jason Sudeikis is not subtle with the Ted Lasso references in the new promo for Saturday Night Live this week. Sudeikis is this week’s host, and he appears in three teasers with musical guest Brandi Carlile. He brings his soccer coach character‘s signature positivity to the viral clips.

The last-minute promos put Sudeikis and Carlile alongside cast members Alex Moffat and Chloe Fineman to assure fans of how great the new episode is going to be. In the first one, they take turns describing the Halloween atmosphere – “it’s going to be spooky,” says Fineman, “It’s going to be scary,” says Moffat,” It’s going to have some laughs,” says Carlie, “and if we do things right, we might just learn a little something about ourselves along the way… Or not,” finishes Sudeikis.

Even with his Kansas accent turned down, there’s no doubt that this so-wholesome-it’s-funny bit is a riff on Ted Lasso, Sudeikis’ character in the hit Apple TV+ original series which just wrapped up its second season. In the second clip, the reference is more direct, with Moffat pitching a sketch called “Bread Lasso,” which Sudeikis seems to hate. The third sketch gets back to channeling the character himself – specifically his “believe” mantra.

In the third promo, Sudeikis leads the other three through some “positive affirmations,” finishing with: “Now manifest it!” At it’s heart, this is what Ted Lasso is all about – applying folksy midwestern manners and positivity to modern scenarios. That simple premise has helped catapult the series to the top of everyone’s watchlist.

Ted Lasso premiered in August of 2020, but the character goes back at least a few years before that. He first appeared in NBC Sports’ coverage of the Premier League back when Sudeikis was still a cast member on SNL himself. The whole character was a joke about Americans’ misunderstanding of soccer, while in the show, Lasso is hired as the coach of a Premier League football team in England.

Ted Lasso Season 2 premiered in July to generally positive reviews, and the series has now been renewed for a third season as well. It brings surprising depth to its silly title character, who finds himself stranded overseas and estranged from his wife and his son, working a job that turns out to be surprisingly political and hard to navigate. At the same time, the show often snaps that tension with some of the most silly sitcom antics the genre can muster.

Hopefully, Sudeikis’ return to SNL this weekend bring plenty of Ted Lasso references along for the ride. His episode begins live at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.