SNL managed to make some very funny sketches about the pandemic. Here are our favorites.
When we think of Covid-19, “funny” isn’t exactly the first word that comes to mind. So when Saturday Night Live announced they would be coming back during the pandemic, we thought, How the heck are they going to pull this off? While there were certainly some bumps in the road (especially in those first SNL At Home episodes!), there also emerged a lot of really funny skits about the lighter side of a very dark chapter of our lives. Below, find some of our favorite Covid-themed SNL sketches — from an Airbnb guest who overstays her welcome during quarantine to a very happy group of Boomers celebrating their vaccinations, each of these skits is sure to bring a little bit of levity to your day!
Best SNL Sketches About Covid
Madame Vivelda
Picture this: The year is 2019, and a group of friends visits a psychic to see what 2020 has in store for them. Madame Vivelda, played by the always spot-on Kate McKinnon, first envisions one of the group “washing a bag of Doritos with soap,” and it’s all laughs from there. From the washing groceries phase to the adult coloring book fad, to the vitriol directed at the Postmaster-General, it’s a funny trip down memory lane of all of the weird phases we’ve gone through since this pandemic started.
Airbnb Commercial
This sketch highlights SNL star Chloe Fineman in all of her brilliance. Armed with an iPhone and a signature crazy wig, she single-handedly created one of the silliest sketches from the pre-in-studio pandemic days. Chloe plays an eager Airbnb host who realizes she may have bitten off more than she could chew when Ooli, an energetic Swedish weirdo with a love for loud dance music and some serious boundary issues, is forced to stay well past her three-day booking.
Zoom Call
Another gem from one of the SNL At Home episodes, this sketch features Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon as Henriette and Nan, two older receptionists trying to figure out how to work Zoom. When Henriette asks, “Did I activate Zoom” after accidentally changing her avatar to a picture of Wayne Brady, we all laughed knowing somebody who would do this on a Zoom call (if you can’t think of who that person is…it’s probably you).
The Christmas Conversation
The holidays were really tough this year as so many people weren’t able to travel home because of the pandemic. According to SNL, there’s one group that suffered more than the rest of us (and weren’t afraid to guilt-trip the heck out of you for it): Moms. You can feel the passive aggression through the screen in this sketch where three moms react as their daughters call them to say they won’t be home for Christmas.
Boomers Got the Vax
Hallelujah, the vaccine has arrived! To all of those millennials who called the virus “the boomer remover,” SNL shows us who’s having the last laugh. The sketch highlights what the boomers are up to now that they’re vaccinated. From using their coupons at the grocery store to using their phone flashlights to look at the menu at indoor restaurants, the catchy song celebrates the return for some to normality: “Give it up if you’re 70 plus, everyone gettin’ jealous of us.”
