Jason Sudeikis hosted SNL with Ted Lasso sincerity

Vanity Fair

"The most important thing to know about last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live is that host Jason Sudeikis went full Ted Lasso in his monologue," says Karen Valby. "His face naked of Ted’s mustache, his hot Dad bod swathed in a brown velvet suit, Sudeikis talked about how 'neat' it was to be a small part of the show’s history. He urged everyone in Studio 8H, from the crowd to the crew, to pause and soak in the power that’s passed through these walls. It was a full-on locker room speech, delivered by an Emmy-winning everyman to a kid out there in Virginia who might be watching SNL uploads on YouTube and fantasizing about his own future in comedy. Do you believe in miracles, little guy? Because this episode was great from start to finish." As Dennis Perkins points out, Sudeikis made a so-so episode better. "Maybe playing Ted Lasso is rubbing off on Jason Sudeikis," says Perkins. "Or maybe he was just always hiding a streak of affecting genuineness through his long and suddenly world-bestriding comedy career. But the former Saturday Night Live star’s monologue managed to find the perfect sweet spot between reverent and maudlin when it came to putting his life in Studio 8H into perspective. It’s not everybody who can pull the whole, 'look around you' card to an audience without coming off corny, but Sudeikis’ palpable love of the place and his part in its long and storied history got to me (and, seemingly, the audience). Calling out past stars like Gilda, Eddie, Farley, and Fey, and then, pointing to the musical stage, to the likes of Elvis Costello, Kanye (or Ye), Nirvana, and the Stones, Sudeikis urged the in-studio crowd to simply appreciate how much of what’s happened in that room has changed the world of comedy. Or the world of TV. or, hell, I’ll say it—the world, full stop." LaToya Ferguson adds that Sudeikis' monologue "ended up being a truly emotional and genuinely touching affair was especially impressive."

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