The best of Jack Black's episode (April 5, 2025)

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Jack Black hosted the April 5 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” with Elton John and Brandi Carlile as musical guest.

SNL recap: Musical guests Brandi Carlile and Elton John alongside host Jack Black and cast member Heidi Gardner ahead of the April 5, 2025 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” Rosalind O’Connor/NBC

By Kevin Slane

April 6, 2025 | 10:49 AM

2 minutes to read

“SNL” returned to the air for the latest episode in its 50th season on Saturday, April 5, with Jack Black serving as host and a pair of musical guests in Elton John and Brandi Carlile.

Black was hosting “SNL” for the fourth time, but the first since 2005. That episode, which featured Neil Young as musical guest — happens to be one of my favorite “SNL” episodes of all time.

The Dec. 17, 2005 episode featured the debut of Two A-Holes, a hilarious 10-to-1 sketch (Spelling Bee), a TV Funhouse classic (Christmastime for the Jews) and Lazy Sunday, the digital short from Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell that popularized a then-fledgling streaming platform called YouTube.

While it’s unlikely that Black’s hosting stint last night while singlehandedly change the internet forever like Lazy Sunday did, the actor brought his requisite over-the-top wild man energy for a full 90 minutes, resulting in one of the better episodes of the season.

The only notable celebrity cameo this week came from Mike Myers, who was back in the political cold open once more as billionaire Elon Musk. If you look carefully during Black’s opening monologue, however, you can see Canton native Bill Burr sitting in the audience along with his “Glengarry Glen Ross” co-star Kieran Culkin.

Check out the videos below to see highlights from the latest episode of “SNL,” including the tariff-filled cold open, Black’s opening monologue, a pair of fantastic performances from John and Carlile, and all of the guests visiting the “Weekend Update” desk.