The top 18 sketches of Ashley Padilla’s breakout ‘SNL’ season

It’s almost time to put Season 51 of SNL to rest. But before we do so, there’s one final major development from this season to discuss: The rise of Ashley Padilla.

Having a breakout sketch or even a run of successful episodes isn’t unheard of for an SNL cast member. But keeping that momentum going for an entire season is something we haven’t seen in the modern era of SNL. With a large cast fighting for screentime, Padilla’s ability to repeatedly turn episodes into her own personal highlight reels is impressive. Even more impressive? Padilla had her breakout season as a featured cast member.

In only her sophomore season, Padilla led the entire cast in appearances (92 versus 82 for Sarah Sherman) and total time (151 minutes, 17 seconds versus Colin Jost for 147 minutes, 23 seconds).

So, yes, Kathy, we’re about to be talkin’ TV.

18. Shop TV: Pillow

With SNL down Heidi Gardner this season, Padilla quickly stepped into roles the show had previously filled with Gardner. In addition to becoming one of the members of the Kel Squad when Domingo appeared in the cold open of Sabrina Carpenter’s episode, Padilla became the new cohost of SNL’s long-running “Shop TV” sketches alongside Mikey Day.

17. Bob Army

I’m sure the line “Boots the house down! Bang the house up! Bang the Bobs out!” would’ve been funny from almost any SNL cast member, but as leader of the Bang Battalion, Padilla punched through that line so hard, she almost made herself break.

16. Parent Teacher Conference

A teacher who immediately drops all — very real! — concerns about a student’s violent drawings of her to try to win the affection of the student’s father, played by Bad Bunny, is the perfect Padilla character.

15. Epstein White House Briefing Cold Open

After becoming the first SNL cast member to play White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Padilla would also add Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi to her plate as the season went along, picking them up from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. It’s a shame SNL didn’t rely on Padilla’s version of Leavitt more for this season cold opens.

14. Mom Movie Trailer

This won’t be the last time you see Padilla playing a mom on this list of her top sketches from Season 51. No one else on SNL has more fully embraced the call to motherhood. (“You want me to be a mom in your sketch?” Padilla mentioned in her Vulture piece. “I will beg you to let me.”) “Mom Movie Trailer” was Padilla’s mom energy in its purest form.