Final 3 SNL Hosts of the Season!

The final three SNL hosts of the season have just been announced, and we could not be more excited!  Closing out SNL's 38th season will be:

5/4 Zach Galifianakis (with musical guest Of Monsters and Men)

After successfully hosting twice before, Zach Galifianakis (I hope I'm pronouncing that right) will return as SNL host for his third time next Saturday! Zach is one of our all-time favorite hosts, so we're very excited to see him back.  While Zach is great in sketches, it is his monologues that have really become quite legendary.  From one-liners at the piano to lip-syncing "Tomorrow" in a red dress, anything goes in a Galifianakis monologue.  Check out his first two monologues below.  (If you enjoy them, you should really check out his DVD "Live at the Purple Onion", which as he points out below, is "selling like whatever the opposite of hot cakes is."  We own the DVD and it is quite hilarious).    Can't wait to see what he does this time!

5/11 Kristen Wiig (with musical guest Vampire Weekend)

After departing the SNL cast at the end of last season, Kristen Wiig will make her much anticipated return to the show as a first-time host!  (She did have a brief cameo earlier this season in the Martin Short episode, but that doesn't really count.)  Kristen is one if the most beloved SNL cast members of the past decade, so we're really looking forward to seeing her back on the show.  She will undoubtedly bring back some of her classic characters with her, but which ones will it be? And will she bring along her good pal John Hamm for a cameo?  We'll find out soon enough!  Below are a few of our favorite Kristen Wiig characters that we're hoping show up when she hosts:

Getting Excited for the End of The Office

Today is April 16 (well it was when I started writing this, it's now technically April 17).  In exactly 1 month from today yesterday, on May 16, The Office will air its final episode ever.  Only 4 episodes remain (the last 2 are both hour-long episodes), and we could not be more excited to see how the 9-season long series will come to an end.  The storylines in the episodes lately have been really great, and we've been eagerly awaiting each new episode, while simultaneously dreading how much closer we are to never seeing new episodes again.

Since Michael Scott left the series at the end of Season 7, his presence has been sorely missed on the show.  But what was also bothersome was that after being such a major part of The Office for almost seven years, he was hardly ever mentioned on the show after his departure.  When watching new episodes, it was almost as if Michael Scott had never existed.  Fortunately, as the show is coming to an end, though Steve Carell will reportedly not be returning to the show to reprise Michael Scott, the writers have been writing in some Michael references to show that he's not forgotten.  In a great throw-back to classic Office (particularly the Pilot episode), in the recent episode "Moving On", Pam interviews for a new job in Philadelphia, and her potential new manager is quite reminiscent of her former boss (there's more after the Toby/Nellie scene):

(Fun Fact: Bob Odenkirk, who plays the Michael Scott-esque boss, actually was considered for the role of Michael Scott when the show was first getting cast back in 2005!)

Another exciting aspect of these final episodes of The Office is that we're finally starting to see this documentary come together. Earlier this season we actually met some of the documentary crew, and in the episode "Promos", the Dunder Mifflin employees actually watch a promo for the documentary that they star in!  (And for the first time since he left the show in season 7, Michael Scott actually appears on-screen!)

And to further build our excitement for the end of The Office, John Krasinski (Jim) has produced a 10-episode web series entitled "The Office Farewells" which features various actors who have appeared on The Office looking back and talking about what The Office has meant to them.  So far only the first installment is available, and it features none other than the great Will Ferrell reminiscing about his classic Office role of Deangelo Vickers:

Only four episodes left!  Can't wait to see how it all ends!

Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy

Last weekend Melissa McCarthy returned to host SNL , and although she did a good job (though not as great as her first time hosting), our favorite part of the show was the return of Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy!  While we don't always love Vanessa Bayer's characters, ,this one is one of our favorites currently on the show.  The accent is hilarious, but what really makes it great is the facial expressions.  Vanessa, a 31 year old woman, really becomes this 13 year old boy.  I love Jacob's goofy smile after he tells each corny joke, and how quickly he goes back to his serious speech.  He also has great chemistry with Seth, who really seems to be amused by Jacob.  So far, Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy has appeared twice at the Weekend Update desk.  Here's his appearance from last weekend's show talking about Passover, followed by his appearance last December talking about Chanukah:

While Seth always introduces Jacob as a "recent Bar Mitzvah Boy", did you know that we've actually seen Jacob's Bar Mitzvah?  Before Jacob became a recurring Weekend Update character, he starred in a sketch which featured many musical impressions of popular celebrities singing Jewish parodies at his Bar Mitzvah. The sketch aired back in 2011 and features host Gwyneth Paltrow as Taylor Swift and musical guest Cee Lo Green as himself:

Hopefully we'll see some more of Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy soon! Although there aren't really many Jewish holidays coming up.  Maybe Jacob can explain to everyone the story of Shavuot?