September 15, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Comedian Shane Gillis will host 'Saturday Night Live' for his third time on Oct. 10.
On Sept. 26, "Saturday Night Live" will return for its 52nd season, and the sketch comedy show is tapping Knicks star Jalen Brunson and comedian Shane Gillis to be among the first three hosts.
Brunson, the two-time NCAA champion with Villanova and reigning NBA Finals MVP, will host the season premiere with global girl group KATSEYE as the musical guest. Gillis will host for his third time on Oct. 10, with musical guest Rosalía.
"SNL" has had quite the run of picking Philly-area stars as hosts, with Colman Domingo in April, Miles Teller in November 2025, Sabrina Carpenter in October 2025 and Quinta Brunson in May 2025.
Gillis, a Mechanicsburg native who creates and stars in the Valley Forge-based show "Tires," last hosted in March 2025. During that episode, he parodied the blind audition process on NBC’s reality singing competition "The Voice" and promoted the revolutionary new medication “CouplaBeers." The West Chester University alumnus also sported his Eagles merch during past promotions of the show.
Brunson's 'SNL' debut will likely be dominated by mentions of his crowning as "King of New York" after leading the Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 years, but there could be some Philly flavor worked into the sketches, too.
As a tribute to the show's recent infatuation with celebrities from the area, here’s look at some of the most memorable Philly-themed skits and moments from the past 51 seasons.
The skit is a mockery about the New England Patriots' NFL dynasty leading up to Super Bowl LII under the guise of battles won during the Revolutionary War.
Dressed in their Revolutionary-era finest, Boston's pack of braggadocious winners boast about their unstoppable captain Thomas Brady before the heavily accented Philadelphians, led by Tina Fey, break up the celebration.
"We crossed many 'wooders' up the Schuylkill River to give youse a message,” Fey said. "... Call us the iggles, 'cause we're ready to fly."
Knowing the outcome now makes the skit that much sweeter.
Chris Farley spoofs former Phillies first baseman and now beloved NBC Sports announcer John Kruk in a skit that might rehash some painful World Series memories, but it still shines in its irreverence.
Kruk is called to the "Weekend Update" desk to speak on allegations that his 1993 World Series team is made up of "unshaven, overweight, long-haired, dumb slobs," as "Weekend Update" host Kevin Nealon characterized them.
The skit lasts barely over a minute and Farley says less than 20 words, with the crux of the gag resting on the fact that Kruk was supposed to be in Toronto for the World Series game instead of in New York for "SNL." Cue the Farley-esque buffoonery where he appears to go through all seven stages of grief in around 45 seconds before finding out the Phils lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-3.
"I should've been there," he says before walking off.
In the fictitious talk show hosted by Betty (Amy Poehler) and Jodi (Maya Rudolph), two disgruntled women from the Bronx, Fey returns to her Upper Darby roots to play Poehler's Philadelphian cousin, Karen.
Fey jumps into another heavily accented dialogue where she talks about her brother Dave, his friend Dave and their other friend Dave saw someone "beat a Salvation Army Santa with an old car battery in a Wawa parking lot."
"Oh my god, Karen," Rudolph's character awes. "I forgot what a beautiful accent you have. You sound fancy!"
In a very Philly-centric Christmas episode, Fey co-hosted with Poehler while Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed as the musical guest.
The Philly-area accent is no stranger to being the butt of a joke on "SNL," but "Murdur Durdur" takes it up a notch. In a spoof of the award-winning crime drama "Mare of Easttown," former cast member Kate McKinnon stars as a "grizzled lady detective with a very specific accent," clearly a play on Kate Winslet's character Mare.
The skit follows a small town in Pennsylvania that is attempting to solve the case of someone's murdered daughter, which in a series of bungled Delco-adjacent accents sounds more like "murdur durdur."
"Would youse guys quit eatin' Wawa hoagies over the body please?" McKinnon requests.
The skit references Wawa, the Phillie Phanatic, Gritty, Wissahickon, Downingtown and Conshohocken in the span of three short minutes before a last-minute appearance from host Elon Musk as a creepy priest confirms him as the killer.
Winslet ended up saying that the sketch made her "cry with laughter" and "validated" her as an actor.
West Philly native Quinta Brunson starred in one of the standout skits of the 48th season when she hosted the show for the first time in 2023.
Brunson and longtime cast member Mikey Day are two drivers embroiled in a heated exchange after Brunson cuts Day’s character off in traffic. What starts with simple gestures to convey annoyance devolves into wildly specific — and sometimes graphic — barbs while exaggeratedly miming at one another.
While not inherently Philadelphia-based by nature, the premise is so ridiculous that it's not hard to imagine the events taking place on any road within city limits.
