The Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live brought together Elvis (Austin Butler) and Lizzo for a remarkable show that saw long-time cast member Cecily Strong bidding the late-night institution farewell. Lizzo filled in for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were originally scheduled to perform, but had to back out due to illness.
The cold open was a send up of an NFT scam put forth by the 45th president this past week, played much more comically than Alec Baldwin by James Austin Johnson.
Butler’s monologue recalled that the 2021 Christmas episode was mostly cast-free due to surging COVID infection rates. Butler spoke about growing up in Anaheim, CA, being home schooled by his mom, alongside his sister (who he wished a happy birthday to in the balcony). Talking about how his mother helped him break out of his shell of shyness, and how they watched Saturday Night Live together, Butler teared up in paying tribute to her memory and credited his acting career to her. Austin Butler made his Broadway debut in the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Elvis.
Sketches including a rip-off of Wheel of Fortune “The Phrase That Pays” was a deeply weird SNL game show concept, as was the the It’s a Wonderful Life spoof “A Christmas Epiphany,” where the viewpoint of an ideal family inside a house being observed by a voyeur was a fresh twist on the holiday classic.
On the rise featured player Sarah Sherman made a stand out appearance as Jewish Elvis, with Austin Butler in the front row in drag as one of the old women who get overly-stimulated by the Semetic singer.
Lizzo, who hosted in April, performed her first song “Break Up Twice” with a setting paying homage to artist Annie Lee’s Blue Monday. Lizzo, in white negligee, is seen sitting on the edge of the bed, having just woken up, exhausted but ready to press ahead with the day. Then, belting out the seventh track on her 2022 release Special, Lizzo stepped forward to reveal the full band, singing about a man who left her in tears but whom she does not want to leave, referencing her relationship with Myke Wright.
“Break Up Twice” had Lizzo singing direct to the camera and lit in white while the band was lit in blue, with notable samples of “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Lauryn Hill and Judy Clay and William Bell’s “Private Number” found throughout.
Weekend Update saw the final appearance for Cecily Strong’s desheveled Cathy Anne, who joked about having to go to prison. Making slightly-cringe conversation with Michael Che, Cathy Anne switched back to Cecily Strong, breaking character to say, “I had a lot of fun here and I feel really lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life in this place with these people that I love so much.”
Lizzo’s second performance found her covering Stevie Wonder’s 1967 holiday classic “Someday at Christmas,” dressed in a half silver, half gold angel dress, wrapped up like a shiny gift. The track is among those featured on Amazon Music, with musicians offering classic covers of Christmas songs. Lizzo said of the song “I chose to cover ‘Someday At Christmas’ not just because it’s a classic, but because it’s a reminder to us that almost 60 years later, we are still fighting for peace, compassion, and equality, a friendly reminder to spread love and kindness this holiday season.”
For the finale, Kenan Thompson (as Frank Lasagna) introduced Cecily on her last day working at Radio Shack, noting her 11 year run and giving a heartfelt ode to her longevity on the show, fitting, coming from the show’s longest running cast member.
Butler then appeared as “Casual Elvis” to serenade Strong with Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” as Strong smiled and choked up, with Thompson’s final lyrics altered to “You’ll be doing alright, every saturday night” for the finale, as the cast joined in on stage for the end of the tribute.
Saturday Night Live returns in January 2023.
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