SNL aired its season finale last weekend, but there’s still plenty left to talk about before we head into the show’s offseason. It’s time to rank the twenty hosts of Season 51.
This is the third time I’ve sat down at the end of a season to figure out the proper ranking of the actors, singers and comedians who hosted the show. (No athletes this year.)
As always with these rankings, The Cold Open is looking at the hosts themselves, not the episode as a whole. It’s always possible to have an SNL host who recedes into the background while the show’s cast cranks things up to a higher gear.
If you missed previous season rankings, please check out the final tallies for Season 49 and Season 50.
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Harry Styles. / NBC
20.
Harry Styles
March 14, 2026
This was Harry Styles’s second time hosting SNL. He had several memorable sketches the first time he hosted, which made it even more baffling that he turned in this dud of an episode. The episode never found a gear beyond “hey, what if Harry Styles is Harry Styles?” when it came to sketch ideas.
Host history: Second time (Nov. 16, 2019)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Red Heart and Aerial Tramway on Apple’s New Emojis Release.”
Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin. / NBC
19.
Finn Wolfhard
January 17, 2026
Finn Wolfhard was woefully out of his league when it came to hosting SNL. He doesn’t have the gravitas to grab the show by the reins, and the writing in this episode didn’t do him any favors when it came to playing to his strengths. Well, maybe that’s not true? Is “Finn Wolfhard was in Stranger Things” a strength? Since this episode kept going back to that well.
Host history: First time
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Tamara on Her Confusing New Year’s Resolution About Buttons.”
I still can’t figure out what happened with Nikki Glaser’s episode. Her monologue was scattershot, trying to condense the essence of her standup into a rapid-fire series of jokes that never landed with the studio audience. This was an SNL where the host wasn’t the star of their own episode.
Speaking of not being the star of their own episode of SNL, the Dec. 13, 2025, episode of SNL could’ve swapped in any other random dude for Josh O’Connor, and folks wouldn’t have noticed.
This was The Ashley Padilla Episode. “If you were watching SNL last night, you saw something magical,” I wrote in my review. “No, it wasn’t Josh O’Connoras the episode’s host. It was how Ashley Padillaabsolutely ran away with the episode.”
Host history: First time
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
Yes? There really wasn’t much to work from when it came to O’Connor’s work in this episode.
With two hosting gigs to his name now, Miles Teller might have a set a record for the host given the least to do from the writing for his episodes of SNL. The only thing from his Season 51 appearance that I remember is “White House Makeover,” but that’s because it was one of the best uses of James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump in a long time and Teller pulled double duty as both of the Property Brothers.
Host history: Second time (Oct. 1, 2022)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Two People Who Just Hooked Up Discuss the Government Shutdown.”
In my head, Olivia Rodrigo was going to rank so much higher among Season 51 hosts, but I think my overall view of the episode was elevated thanks to the return of “Shop TV,” Padilla’s work in “My Ex” and Andrew Dismukes’s force-of-nature skills in “Rasta Driver.”
People were excited for Connor Storrie’s episode. Like, extremely excited. The Heated Rivalry star came into SNL with a ton of enthusiasm and an eagerness to throw himself into whatever the show sent his way. Too bad the show never sent much his way.
I was higher on Teyana Taylor’s episode when it first aired, but four months later, I think a big part of that vibe was just because she got to follow Wolfhard. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Taylor’s episode. There just isn’t much from her hosting gig that stuck with me.
Host history: First time
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Mr. On Blast Speaks His Mind Without Holding Back.”
I appreciate the gleeful weirdness that Alexander Skarsgård brought to SNL. I just don’t think SNL fully knew how to maximize that weirdness. Skarsgård was a supporting playing in “Mom Confession,” one of the most buzzy sketches of all of Season 51 and found himself in retreads of movies from his portfolio like Tarzan and The Northman.
I love how much Bad Bunny loves hosting SNL. I’ve yet to see a sketch from him that would make me consider him one of the show’s best hosts, but his enthusiasm is infectious. My one regret is that I hadn’t yet seen KPop Demon Hunters before Bad Bunny unleashed the SNL sketch of the same name on the world.
Ariana Grande has quickly established herself as a go-to SNL host. She’s funny. She’s full of energy. She can go dark when she needs to for a sketch. But her Season 51 hosting appearance was overshadowed by Bowen Yang’s departure from the show. The episode’s most memorable sketch was “Delta Lounge,” which served as Yang’s farewell. Meanwhile, “Last Stop Christmas Shop” — a brilliant sketch pairing Grande with Sarah Sherman — didn’t make it to air.
Host history: Third time (March 12, 2016, Oct. 12, 2024)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Last Stop Christmas Shop,” which was cut for time.
Sabrina Carpenter and SNL had been circling each other for a few years. She’d been the musical guest. She played a role in SNL50. And now she finally got an episode all of her own. Like many hosts who are also their episode’s musical guest, the episode felt thin in terms of Carpenter’s impact. I want to see her host again — but focus on the hosting.
Points to Matt Damon for dancing his way through “Substitute Teacher’s Goodbye.” Despite not having a ton to do in this episode, The Odyssey made the most of his opportunities. “Tidy Care Crystals” could’ve swapped another male cast member or host in alongside Padilla and Johnson, and Weekend Update was fueled by Jeremy Culhane and Jane Wickline, but Matt Damon is still Matt Damon.
Host history: Third time (Oct. 5, 2002, Dec. 15, 2018)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Tucker Carlson on Liberal Politics and the 2026 Met Gala.”
It took twenty years for Jack Black to go from hosting SNL for his third time to hosting for his fourth time. The universe wasn’t going to let that happen again. Black returned to SNL almost exactly a year after his fourth gig, triumphantly joining the Five-Timers Club in the most Jack Black way possible.
Host history: Fifth time (Jan. 19, 2002, Oct. 4, 2003, Dec. 17. 2005, April 5, 2025)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Kathy,” another highlight piece from the Season of Ashley Padilla.
Will Ferrell was one of two SNL alumni who came back to host during Season 51. Ferrell delivered a solid hosting gig, but Lorne Michaels made some interesting choices in terms of what didn’t make it to air, keeping “Hormuz Jeff” and “Dad’s Birthday,” two sketches that heavily and hilariously featured Ferrell, out of the episode.
Host history: Sixth time (May 14, 2005, May 16, 2009, May 12, 2012, Jan. 27, 2018, Nov. 23, 2019)
The host’s most memorable sketch
Was it the episode’s best sketch?
No, that would be “Weekend Update: Colin Jost and Michael Che Swap Jokes for Season 51 Finale.”
The bar for a Melissa McCarthy-hosted episode of SNL is always going to be incredibly high. Few hosts can launch themselves across a set or bully their way through a sketch like McCarthy.
Host history: Sixth time (Oct. 1, 2011, April 6, 2013, Feb. 1, 2014, Feb. 13, 2016, May 13, 2017)
Colman Domingo might be too smooth for SNL. The Euphoria star absolutely needs to host again, and host again soon. For a first-time host to come into the show with the level of ease that Domingo did is impressive. He was also blessed with some of the weirdest SNL writing of the season, with “What If I Told You” being the episode’s standout sketch.
Man, what a delight Glen Powell was as an SNL episode. From his touching monologue story about getting invited — and then disinvited — to host SNL to fully committing to “Bob Army” to even being key to getting Will Forte back for another MacGruber sketch, Powell was the ultimate SNL rookie who threw himself fully into an episode.
Ryan Gosling has become SNL’s chaos agent. After establishing himself as a solid SNL host over his first two times hosting with sketches like “Papyrus” and “Close Encounter,” Gosling’s third hosting gig delivered the viral “Beavis and Butt-Head” sketch. The show fully committed to Gosling’s breaking this season, with “Passing Notes” becoming the first SNL sketch to flat out admit that it was crafted to make its host and cast break.
Host history: Fourth time (Dec. 5, 2015, Sept. 30, 2017, April 13, 2024)
It’s hard to believe that Amy Poehler has only hosted SNL three times. A show legend with the power to summon Tina Fey and Seth Meyers for a Weekend Update joke-off while also nailing The Falconer-esque absurdity of “Experienced Lawyers” should be back to host as often as possible.
Host history: Third time (Sept. 25, 2010, Dec. 19, 2015)
The Omnicosm founder. Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
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