Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time and was joined by a familiar face: Her ex, former cast member Fred Armisen.

"I had been [in Los Angeles] living with Fred and during COVID. I honestly think we broke up because I wanted a swimming pool," she told the outlet. "The people here are my real-life chosen family," she said. "I've been coming here since I was a teenager.

There was plenty of fanfare before the show even started. A number of long-time cast members, including Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and Pete ...

Lyonne also joked about how it’s not the best time to be promoting a Netflix show called Russian Doll, and looks back at her first big starring role as Opal in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. Despite this desire to fit in, she also had a desire to rebel, a quality that is not only welcomed now, but encouraged and evident in her work. The New York native told Marc Maron on an episode of his podcast that growing up, she was always trying to fit in and had a “hyper critical” and “hyper-analytical” mind that made her self-conscious. She started the production company Animal Pictures with Maya Rudolph and produced everything from the documentary Sirens which made it to Sundance, to Hulu’s rom-com Crush, and Rian Johnson’s upcoming television series Poker Face, the latter of which Lyonne will also star. In this 1950s baseball broadcast, legendary announcer Diz Newsom (Lyonne) gets a bit out of hand when he shows up to announce the Yankees game completely high on his new cold medicine. The return of Ms. Rafferty (McKinnon), the woman with no filter whose alien abduction experiences are always far more disturbing and baffling than the other abductees was met with rapturous applause. Lyonne and Cecily Strong’s characters had beautiful, almost moving experiences from their time on the spaceship, whereas Ms. Rafferty managed to have another confusing and invasive one. But thanks to the help of close friends, including actress and Russian Doll co-star Chloë Sevigny and producing partner Maya Rudolph, she’s managed to not only come out alive but thrive. It is, however, a hilarious parody of ‘80s movies titled 9:15 to 5:10 that follows three bumbling women (Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim) who kill their misogynistic boss and attempt to trick his male co-workers (Kyle Mooney and Fred Armisen) into thinking he’s still alive. Not only was this a more prominent part than she was used to, but it was her first time acting alongside big stars such as Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, and Goldie Hawn. That experience was followed by memorable roles in American Pie, Slums of Beverly Hills, and But I’m a Cheerleader, three films with their own cult following. A number of long-time cast members, including Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and Pete Davidson announced that they would be leaving the show after this season. McKinnon had a sweet and teary send-off when she thanked the crowd in her “Final Encounter” Cold Open, Davidson slid over to Colin Jost at the Weekend Update desk to look back on his time at the show, and Aidy Bryant thanked everyone for a great 10 years while she forecasted trends with Bowen Yang. There were many emotions swirling about for Natasha Lyonne’s host debut, but as expected, she handled her hosting duties like a pro.

Natasha Lyonne was a first-time SNL host, but it's tough to imagine anybody being nervous about her being in the building for this last episode of Season ...

And if Kyle didn’t get the same sort of center stage farewell as the rest, well, that sort of fits his whole niche on the show. (From the start, its role as a live weekly affront to the medium of television—and entertainment more generally—was much more powerful.) But the worst and most dangerous times are when satirists make their bones. Kenan’s self-proclaimed dumb voter goes out of his way to say that he’s voted for both the elephants and the donkeys before, just so nobody can possibly come away thinking that SNL is taking some sort of position concerning—just as an example—the majority-white, resentment-motivated, misinformation-gorging bloc that voted to put a cartoonishly corrupt demagogue and greed-headed conman in the White House. Well, with SNL signing off for the summer and the working life of a freelancer being about as guaranteed as a featured player who got about one sketch every six weeks (good luck, Aristotle and Punkie, I’m rooting for you), here’s one last bit of analysis concerning Saturday Night Live’s satire. (Tonight it’s a knockoff Bottega Veneta fanny pack.) The show would have made a bigger deal about a Kenan departure, and, truthfully, I am in no way troubled at the thought of Kenan Thompson staying at SNL for as long as he wants. She even tells the dirtiest old joke I’ve heard on SNL in a long while, and urges listeners stuck in traffic to “just slam the gas and see what happens.” But worry not, everybody, as the sketch pairs her with Mikey Day in the booth, and a Mikey Day character is bound and determined to put a stop to any given sketch’s shenanigans. But this was really a last taste of Davidson’s signature “what am I doing here?” shtick, with a genuinely affecting helping of gratitude to the show that gave him his now-flourishing (if strange) career. Nobody’s in the mood for another rant about what does and doesn’t make for a good repeating sketch, but, you know, it’s sort of what I get paid for. The Best: Just to get it out of the way, this was the last show for a formidable list of veteran cast members, with Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney all announcing this week that they were leaving. That results in Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and Cecily Strong trying to pull off a Weekend at Bernie’s bit for the benefit of Kyle and Armisen’s visiting board members, complete with all the body-molesting, drink-spilling, and awkward tickling that entails. Even if she weren’t already a backstage favorite, though, Lyonne would fit right in at Saturday Night Live. With her brash New York demeanor (described by the actress as “a Little Orphan Annie type who talks like Dee Dee Ramone”) and seen-it-all unflappability, Lyonne was a fine choice to bring this season in for a landing. Natasha Lyonne was a first-time host, but it’s tough to imagine anybody being nervous about her being in the building for this last episode of Season 47.

"Russian Doll" star Natasha Lyonne dropped by Studio 8H to host the season finale of "Saturday Night Live."

The camera work ends up being framed in a way that you’ll never really see the host’s reactions until the last bits — which was the case here, with McKinnon really trying to get Lyonne to break, which wasn’t as successful as in the “Mr. Dooley” sketch — despite it being the supposed point of the sketch. In fact, this sketch succeeded as soon as it revealed that its “political” premise was a bait and switch. The low point was Armisen (doing a guest sketch appearance, perhaps for familiarity reasons) and Mooney’s characters easily figuring out Lyonne’s character (her second male character of the episode was dead), because it led to the window-jumping ending that suggested “SNL” had no idea how to end it. Call it a riff on “The Wonder Years,” call it a riff on the teen comedies of the ‘80s or ‘90s, the pre-tape sketch “After High School” hit on all fronts. “PSA” had the task of being about “stupid” people — who, in case you missed it, also vote — and it succeeded, partially because it made it clear none of this was about mental health or learning disabilities. Armisen proved that it’s always funny to say “tickle” as you tickle someone (that’s where the familiarity came in, with the aggressive tickling) — which was ultimately the point of the sketch. (If they’d done all Bryant and McKinnon sketches this episode, it would’ve been okay.) The concept of “grey adult pigtails” (and “Richard” — Kyle Mooney) has made for sketch premises all by themself, so again, it was a delightful send-off So naturally, “SNL” decided to do a mash-up of the two movies, with Heidi Gardner’s Dolly Parton-inspired character killing Lyonne’s Coleman-inspired character to kick off the “Weekend at Bernie’s” part of the bit. In this sketch, it was all about Thompson, Lyonne, and even Cecily Strong — as well as the audience members played by Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang. (It’s worth noting it was never about Kyle Mooney, who was the keyboard-playing part of Henderson’s group, even when Strong’s character’s bit was just that she dances off to the side.) Fineman and Yang provided the tiny twist on the bit, with him being “gay” and her his “sidekick” who just happened to be a psychic. The point was her final beat, which was that, “There’s always hope in despair.” Considering how the world is going as this season wraps up, it’s something good to remember; and on a superficial level, with four cast members leaving after this episode (Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, and Pete Davidson), it was quite an optimistic and triumphant way to close things out. But it was also a sketch that just relied on us all enjoying these performers, as there wasn’t more there to it than Lyonne playing harmonica in between her and Thompson’s conversations. And also despite Lyonne being a capital-a “Actress,” it was an interesting choice that — after Armisen and Rudolph gave their Lyonne impressions, which Rudolph truly excelled at, that is — she ultimately went the stand-up tight five route for her monologue.

"We're the only couple who had a sex tape nobody wanted to buy," Natasha Lyonne joked of ex Fred Armisen as she made her Saturday Night Live hosting debut ...

After shooting him dead, Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim propped up his body, Weekend at Bernie's-style, to get him through a meeting with some shareholders (Armisen and Kyle Mooney). The sketch ended with Armisen tickling Lyonne on the floor to confirm his death. The segment ended with Yang and Michael Che carrying out a new trend at Bryant's behest, "My best guys kissing me." "I appreciate SNL always having my back and allowing me to work on myself and grow. She boarded a spaceship with bright lights and fog, as well as some small inflatable aliens. Yang, 31, added: "In: a friend I couldn't have done this without." "It might seem like a mundane reason for a breakup, but during that pandemic, you've got to get your laps — I'm like Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer."

The 'Russian Doll' star and co-creator used her opening monologue to talk about her life and make jokes about Netflix and Russia.

Lyonne also touched on her down period, when she struggled with “multiple arrests and addiction,” which she compared to the time Fabio was hit in the face by a goose on a rollercoaster. She’s friends with alumni, including her ex-boyfriend Fred Armisen and her Russian Doll co-creator Amy Poehler. And she digs its vibe. “Two things you definitely want to be associated with right now are Russia and Netflix,” she joked.

Natasha Lyonne becomes a creepy boss in the 9 to 5 meets Weekend at Bernie's sketch Mr. Dooley featuring Fred Armisen.

It was funny, silly, and another sketch where Lyonne dressed up like a man to play some gross man and really was incredible in it. Who knew that 9 to 5 and Weekend at Bernie's could work in one sketch together? To test whether or not he's alive, they tickle him and when he doesn't move, they know that Mr. Dooley is for real dead.

Lyonne comically pushes boundaries with this hilarious sketch as her character is not one anyone would want on live radio. The actress plays a host who not only ...

The chaotic dynamic between Lyonne and Day is one of the things SNL does best. Mikey Day's character, who shares the scene with Lyonne as her cohost, tries his best to get her character to stop talking. Lyonne comically pushes boundaries with this hilarious sketch as her character is not one anyone would want on live radio.

Amazon has picked up the sci-fi animated comedy "The Hospital" for two seasons.

Kieran Culkin (Succession) will voice-star as Dr. Plowp, a surgeon, an empath, and an adult experiencing puberty. Dunlap serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on “The Hospital.” Along with Rudolph and Lyonne, Danielle Renfrew Behrens of Animal Pictures will also executive produce. “Cirocco is a total original,” said Rudolph, Lyonne, and Renfrew Behrens. “Brilliant and wildly talented with an utterly singular voice and boundless imagination. She’s had every career you can think of—king, thief, stay-at-home mom of 500—and is a true testament to hard work. Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne are part of the voice cast and will also executive produce under their Animal Pictures banner. Keke Palmer, Greta Lee, Kieran Culkin, and Sam Smith will also voice characters on the show.