SNL: Shane Gillis hosts for third time as Jost plays Hegseth in cold open
Shane Gillis hosted Saturday Night Live for the third time, with Colin Jost opening the night in character as US defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
The cold open, meaning the first sketch before the titles, welcomed home the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln after a 321-day deployment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jost played Hegseth addressing sailors returning to land. The setting was familiar SNL territory: a straight parody of a political homecoming speech.
In the sketch, Jost told the crew they were back home safe in sunny San Diego. Then came the punchline. That is the city the president just asked Iran to blow up.
He followed it with a list of numbers. The crew had flown more than 3,000 combat missions, he said, with zero casualties, zero flight mishaps and zero working toilets. That last line got the laugh.
Gillis is now a repeat host. He made his hosting debut in February 2024 and returned in March 2025, with this show his third turn in charge of the live NBC programme.
His history with the show is complicated. Gillis was once cast as a featured player, meaning an entry-level cast member on a short contract, but was fired before he ever appeared after video resurfaced of him using a racial slur.
Rosalia was the musical guest, meaning the live performance slot in the middle of the show. It was her second appearance on SNL.
What makes this stand out is the loop being closed. A performer once cut from the cast list is now trusted to carry the full 90-minute broadcast, with Jost handling the political material up top.
