Saturday Night Liveis backafter several months because of the studio’s inability to make a deal with the writers. Now that the WGA and the AMPTP have come to a deal that worked for both parties, the show can return because it is technically a variety show and does not fall under the SAG-AFTRA rules. The typical fanfare of aSaturday Night Livecold open was nowhere to be found this week when hostPete Davidsontook to the stageto bring a somber message about the week in the news as a whole. Davidson began by saying that the audience may see him as the last person who should be commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but that he has a unique perspective on the terrorist attacks from this week.
Davidson’s fatherdied in a terrorist attack in 2001. He was 7 at the time his father was killed on 9/11, and Davidson used his own personal story to highlight the turmoil and the pain that the children of Israel and Palestine are going through in the midst of the war. Davidson talked about how he found his solace in comedy, offering his hosting ofSaturday Night Liveas a way for people to forget about the horrors in the world for a moment by sharing how comedy helped him cope with his own father’s passing. He joked that his mother bought the wrong DVD, thinking it was a Disney movie but it was theEddie MurphyspecialEddie Murphy: Delirious. She went to shut it off but then realized that he was enjoying it. “I was laughing again,” Davidson said.
The message here is important because, while it was maskedin Davidson’s jokeabout him listening toEddie Murphy: Deliriousat too young of an age or against his mother’s wishes, it still was him saying that comedy helped him remember that smiling and laughingmade him happy.
An Important Tonal Shift
OftenSNLmodifies the cold openappropriately when necessary; whether it is as a result of the status of the news week or because of another world issue, the show recognizes that sometimes we don’t need to justmake jokes straight out of the gatewithout having a moment to recognize what is going on. Seeing Davidson this somber was a surprise for viewers as he often makes jokes when talking about the difficult situations he’s been through. Thankfully, he kept the cold open serious and important. Check out Davidson’s cold open forSNLbelow:
