Covid hits ‘Saturday Night Live’

By IANS

LOS ANGELES: ‘Saturday Night Live’ bowed to the rising menace of Covid-19, opening its ultimate present of 2021 with a pre-taped section that featured stars Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, Steve Martin and Kenan Thompson, welcoming host Paul Rudd into the ‘Five-Timers Club’.

Production of Saturday evening’s ‘SNL’ was thrown into disarray late this week when quite a few solid members examined optimistic for COVID-19, studies selection.com.

Crew members grew to become vocal about issues of gathering as standard to supply the dwell broadcast at 30 Rock’s famed Studio 8H, prompting NBC to drop the dwell viewers and use a restricted crew for tonight’s installment.

The episode opened with a “previously recorded” slate as Hanks bounded out on the acquainted stage in a royal blue jacket with an outsized “5” patch over the appropriate breast.

Rudd, the beloved comedy character actor, was set to log his fifth time on the helm of ‘SNL’.

“As you know I started the Five-Timers Club,” Hanks mentioned. “Like you started Covid,” Fey responded.

Hanks defined that the section was recorded earlier on Saturday and that the choice had been to scale down the present and go with out an viewers for security’s sake.

“But I wasn’t going to fly across the country and not be on TV,” Hanks quipped earlier than he invited Fey on stage.

She wore the identical jacket with 5 emblems.

Martin, additionally sporting a blue-5 jacket, joined within the salute to Rudd through Zoom video.

Martin Short, who’s Steve Martin’s co-star in Hulu’s quirky new hit ‘Only Murders within the Building’, butted into the latter’s shot briefly and famous that he has solely hosted ‘SNL’ 3 times.

Thompson, ‘SNL’s’ longest-tenured participant, got here out alongside Rudd to current his jacket.

“Congratulations on hosting the show four and a half times,” he mentioned, earlier than serving to him placed on the jacket which did function a full-fledged 5.

Fey ribbed Rudd for his standing as People journal’s newest alternative for ‘Sexiest Man Alive’. “Mr. sexy Five-Timer,” she quipped.

Rudd defined the present’s predicament amid the winter Covid spike and defined that the present can be stuffed with segments taped earlier within the week and some basic bits chosen by him and others.

Among them was 2006’s early viral video hit ‘Dick in a Box’ that includes Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.