We’ve had the pleasure of seeing some pretty iconic faces grace the Saturday Night Live broadcast, and now Octavia Spencer has taken her place among them! The Hidden Figures actress hosted the weekly sketch show on March 4, making her debut performance.
The show began with a political cold open of Jeff Sessions talking with various people at a bus stop while eating a box of chocolates (and offering to share).
Spencer’s monologue was absolutely fantastic. She asked the audience if they had watched the Oscars and were as surprised as her that she did not win an award. Apparently “resting nurse face” isn’t popular enough (her words, not ours).
The Spencer’s Gifts sketch tried to bring the laughs at the expense of company employees. Spencer starred as herself, surrounded by four employees whose job it was to come up with the next big gag––poop keychains, hillbilly teeth, etc. Spencer heard and dismissed these ideas all while wearing a pair of cat eye sunglasses, sparking laughter from the audience.
The Chocolate Man took a potential workplace shooting and turned it into a comedic attempt at an apology. Not quite sure what they were going for with this one, but the songs are kind of funny.
Wine Bar showed us a girls night out with Spencer as Jode, the bug killer who came to slay…the dance floor.
Sticky Bun showed us how tough customer service can be. We still don’t know if that was Spencer’s character’s first job ever, but it was pretty funny watching them learn how to use a cash register and interact with customers. Makes us realize how much we don’t want to go back!
Spencer’s debut was full of laughs and groans, and Father John Misty’s musical performance wasn’t bad either! Our next question: when is she coming back?
You can stream the whole show on NBC.com.