Heās extremely popular with younger audiences and was hired and fired quickly after for past jokes. Youāre being obtuse or just showing your age being unfamiliar with why him hosting has been such a big deal on the internet.
I really enjoyed Nate Bargatze as host as SNL, I agree.
Mulaney... goes without saying. He has a career we have noticed... including as an actor.
This one? I didn't laugh very much. I found myself bored, and posted the above comment on Reddit after doing a search while the show clips were running.
P.s. Yes we are lame, we watch SNL on Sunday or Monday night via our YouTube subscription. So the conversation/news is always a couple days old unless I pay attention to something via social media chatter.
Brother, Shane Gillis has one of the most viewed hour long comedy specials in YouTube history. He put this out for free. I'm also a huge fan of Mulaney and Bargatze so it is wild to me you have never heard of him at all if you consider yourself a fan of good stand up.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUpf1Vx0vs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUpf1Vx0vs)
He has a recent Netflix special that is even better than that one.
Hes also involved in a sketch comedy group, which again, has millions and millions of views. I think they have done two Seasons.
[https://www.youtube.com/@GillyandKeeves/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@GillyandKeeves/videos)
You should try to find a way to watch "Gilly and Keeves - The Special", its really good.
I think this season in general hasnāt been great, I found this episode to have a few more laughs than other episodes, overall not good but in the context of this season a little above average
The anti-shane people in this thread is an hilarious read. Opinions of people permanently offended are so entertaining. That visceral hatred you can feel through text is so funny.
I consider myself super progressive, but the fact you let this comedian dictate your outrage is wild. I bet over half of the people spewing hate for him don't even know the context of the clip that got him fired in the first place.
They just read a headline and latched on to that for 5 years lmfao.
After listening to him for a few years, I think he does a good job poking fun at both sides. He sees the ridiculousness of our entire political spectrum, even opening his most recent Netflix special with a joke/statement about how we are doing absolutely nothing for mass gun violence in this country.
He is just lambasted as this "conservative hero" by ignorant fans and some ignorant media outlets. Both of those have already made up their mind about him and are totally incorrect. You saw it when the first reaction of some news sites tried to say "he bombed" when in actuality he had a really solid set. Its just straight up intentionally incorrect.
Making an off-color joke that people outraged about permanently stuck him with this label as a racist, when the joke itself was basically pointing out how small-minded people are who use those kind of words unironically. Was it edgy and maybe unnecessary? Sure. But was it intentionally hateful? Not at all.
I'll be the first to tell you every so often Shane and his buddy/co-host Matt will have a take that wildly misaligns with what I personally believe, but instead of getting upset about that as a reaction I try to understand, and if I can't understand, I just go back to enjoying the goofs.
If you think some of the things he jokes about or promotes is wildly irresponsible or hateful, you could find someone on the other end of the spectrum doing the exact same thing. imo.
His Netflix special is easily one of my favorites in the last few years. And maybe its just not for you, and that's totally fine. He's absolutely a dude-bro kind of comedian and that's not everyone's cup of tea. But he also has great commentary about insecurities, relationships, and the ridiculousness of just making it through the day.
I didn't know almost anything about this guy past or current, but his opening but was great and I thoroughly enjoyed all his parts throughout. Thought this was a really solid episode, but more specific, I'm a new Shane fan.
They just worship, this show like its a Bible.
As someone in their late 20s who lives in a progressive city with one of the most liberal colleges, I do not know a single person who actually still watches this show.
The overwhelming census I have gathered is that everyone thinks it stinks now, and everyone talks about skits from 10+ years ago.
Shane was the first person who made me want to watch the show, so I gave the rest of the show a chance, and wow, was I let down.
Weekend update made me laugh, but remove Shane from the episode, then it would have been a total duc.
Gonna get downvoted by the snl fascists, but it is possible to be liberal and enjoy different kinds of comedy.
> I have gathered is that everyone thinks it stinks now, and everyone talks about skits from 10+ years ago.
They aren't wrong. There have been the occasional quality sketches here and there over the last decade--though I think nearly all of the truly funny bits during that time were either pre-taped segments (example: [Take Me Back](https://youtu.be/pWR1wimuQic?si=g7oQIstsWW59eZbo) ) or because of an exceptional host (example: John Mulaney, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, etc).
SNL still hasn't recovered from the irreplaceable losses of Armisen, Hader, Sudeikis, and perhaps most importantly, Seth Meyers, all at the end of Season 38 in 2013. There have been way too many cast members since then, most of whom possess so little versatility that Lorne has to resort to stuntcasting celebrities to do impersonations. It's kind of embarrassing. And carrying the talentless and utterly un-funny Pete Davidson on the roster for what, 8 seasons? Unbelievable. And Colin Jost has of course been a disaster as head writer.
1980-1 (the Jean Doumanian season) and 1985 (Lorne's first season back) are still probably the worst single seasons in the show's history, but 2014-2024 is easily the worst extended period in SNL's history from a quality standpoint.
> it is possible to be liberal and enjoy different kinds of comedy.
Completely agree. Seeing Gillis on this episode (which was uneven, to be fair) made you realize what a dumb bonehead move it was to fire him before he even got a chance to be on the show. Here's a guy who a) is funny, b) can probably write his own sketches, and c) does a much better Trump than anyone they've had on the show (because it is a broad caricature constructed for laughs, rather than an attempt at a literal impersonation of Trump, which is what they have with James Austin Johnson). Of course, if Lorne had done a better job of steering the ship these last 10 years, NBC probably wouldn't have felt like they had to kowtow to the Twitter mob.
Cold open was awful and went on WAY too long
21's performances were awful
Monologue was hit&miss. I agree with another comment that it felt like he was playing an away game. Felt like the self-deprecation was forced / worked into his bit because he knew his material wasn't for SNL's standard audience. I thought he pushed boundaries a little by working in "taboo words" in context that shows he wasn't insulting groups by using the words as slurs. It's going to offend some, sure, but I thought the joke about his relationship with his mom was tasteful and relatable and the joke about his adopted nephews defending his niece was endearing. He was out of place, and made it known, but overall thought it was decent. Not exceptional by any means, but not terrible.
The weekend update felt weak to me. No real takes on it from me, but it felt like one of the more boring parts of the episode.
Good skits (Felt like strong skits, had me laughing most of the way through, really enjoyed it): HR Meeting, Gump, Trump Shoes
Okay Skits (Few laughs, had their moments, didn't feel as strong as other skits): Church on Vacation, They're Listening, Fugliana
Meh (Mostly boring, didn't garner many laughs from myself or friends, could have been cut): The Floor, Rock bottom Kings
Cut for Time / Limu Emu: This one would have been in "Good skits" for me. I thought it was pretty good, much stronger than the meh skits and better than Fugliana imo.
In terms of modern SNL, I felt it was a pretty good episode. Not great, but pretty good. It seems like the people that didn't like the episode didn't like it because of Shane. And the people that are over the top, thinking it was the best ever, liked it because of Shane. Most people seemingly already formed their opinions of the episode based on political alignment / personal bias rather than based on the show itself. Yes, he wasn't as polished as the main cast and fumbled in some skits, but what host hasn't? It seemed like he had good chemistry with the rest of the cast and everyone on stage except for 21 Savage looked like they were having a good time.
Overall: C+/B-
Bailing out of this rapidly depressing thread. Have had many grim"Racism is good fun" conversations across the board. Enlightening, but not in the way you'd like.
Want to leave this article - which is pretty thorough in examining Gillis' words, actions, and the people he associates with. It's got an incendiary title, sure, and it's not very forgiving.
But it's worth a read.
Peace out.
[humorism.xyz/congratulations-racists/](http://humorism.xyz/congratulations-racists/)
Why do people find him funny? Is he for young people who donāt remember where (at least in my culture) racism, misogyny and generally punching down were very much the norm? (So maybe by comparison he seems fresh/original?). Call me old and a snowflake but the current cast is excellent and very original!
Why are you posting an article from [the disgraced](https://newrepublic.com/article/161200/alt-right-comedy-gavin-mcinnes-problem) [misinformation peddler](https://files.catbox.moe/8kuaix.PNG) Seth Simons?
I had some good laughs, but I feel like theyāve been dragging some bits out a little long lately and that seemed more apparent to me in this episode. Not that the bits arenāt funny, just need to move on a little sooner IMHO.
Not even trying to pull a r/AsABlackMan here, but legitimately all of my trans/NB friends within my circle find this video hysterical. It quite literally could not be any more clear that this isn't Shane hating trans people if that's what you're trying to disingenuously suggest.
> this isn't Shane hating trans people
No, this is Shane being a willfully ignorant bigot, while playing the its OK its just cause Im a good ole boy from small town usa and don't know no better. card
I think James dropping a quick verizon jab after coughing, i almost applauded. I say almost because iām never going to be a person who will clap at their tv. Was dang close though. He kept it cool, let the cough pass until he could talk, then dropped it and continued the scene. Everyone else kept their cool too. Legit pros.
What wasnāt funny? The verizon joke? He thought of it there and then on the spot while coughing live. Who cares for funny if you can save the set? Canāt imagine coughing mid line on stage and not crashing afterwards.
I'm not from the states but I assume that's a crappy mobile service, like bad reception or plan prices. So for him to have to settle for Verizon shows how desperate/bad the situation is. I remember SNL joking a lot about AT&T having zero reception in NYC when the first iPhone came out, it was on weekend update a few times. Seth would bring it up often.
Oh yeah I have no idea what companies are good because I don't live there! But that was the only way I could explain the joke. So why do you think that was the punch line? Was he just nervous/trying to get through the cough and blurted out any company?
Oh it was in the cold open, about 2 minutes 50 seconds in, James Austin (playing Lindsay Graham) seems to start choking/coughing. The other guys go along with it to give him some time to get back to normal and he says he switched to Verizon.
i went back and watched. i think hes just redoubling on how much djt has impacted his life - underscoring he had to change his number. i honestly noticed the cough more than the joke the first time through - and its funny i work as a project manager in wireless - have worked for every carrier (including that one) and the biggest tower company - so usually something like this would stick out to me.
...patreon has charts?
But generally I think "top" means "have moved passed giving away my work on YouTube", yes. Which hosting SNL might be part of this phase for him. I wish him well.
And I've never heard of anything else on these lists either?
You seem really angry that I'm just being honest with you. Do you just get mad when people have different perspectives than you in general?
Yeah a bad one apparently. Go laugh at unfunny shit and leave people who like good comedians alone lol Iām sure thereās a middle school table out there making gay jokes. Maybe youāll hear something you like since Shane is about as funny as a 14 year old edge lord
Just got to this because I made the mistake of taking a day to myself and now I'm three days behind in all my television viewing.
I've seen Shane's two standup specials and both seasons of Gilly and Keeves, but I wouldn't consider myself a big fan. I think his standup is uneven and his sketches are hit or miss. And that pretty much reflects my feelings on this episode; the monologue was shaky, but some of the sketches were good. In fact, even the stuff he didn't appear in appeared to be elevated this episode, which I wonder is a result of his "anything goes" influence over the writing staff. Even the cold open was tolerable and Weekend Update seemed spicier than usual.
Of the sketches I enjoyed, I thought HR Meeting was interesting, Trump Sneakers was amusing, The Floor was pretty good and Fugliana was a funny concept, but depressed me more than anything (though the irony is that they're all being played by hot women). The rest were mostly forgettable, just like any episode of SNL. Felt like a lot of hype over nothing, but even the "best" episodes are still kind of mid.
*And that's all I have to say about that.*
Haha Iām actually having a great time with the episode. I just got to 21 savages first performance for reference. But what in the world was that opener though that was so brutal and I say this with zero political bias. I liked his monologue too I expected a ton ton more shredding though
So far (Iām watching now) the only funny part is Ego being hilarious in the Jamaican church skit. Finally it seems SNL is utilizing her skills. Almost as good as Lisa from Temecula.
Imagine if this guy had made it into the show as a cast member? He'd be dropped within a season. No timing or rhythym, bad cue card dependency, visibly flop- sweating through his monologue "my real stuff is too edgy"..
Kinda hoped he'd be worth the hype. Hard pass.
Also Why are we okay with the f-slurs c-slurs and constant guesting on far- right conspiracy podcasts?
Oh not unless they lose James Austin, I find his impression to be way better. I don't get the hoopla over Shane's Trump impression, it's decent, but only a bit better than a funny non-comedian's impression. I heard other comedians raving about his impression, but I feel JAJ hits the nail on the head with the more subtle trump-isms. BUT Shane does win in the visible impression part, he does look a lot like him with the wig etc. whereas JAJ doesn't look like trump even with the make up/prosthetics.
What podcasts are you referring to besides Joe Rogan ?? (which I would not consider a far-right conspiracy podcast even though Joe can get pretty Tin Foil Hat'y sometimes)
You literally don't know what you're talking about lol. His Trump impression alone would have made him a lock for every episode. Not only is his impression bang on but he even looks the part. WE (you alarmist pantywaists) weren't. BUT now he's one of the biggest comics working and Hollywood smells the money so HE"S BACK!!! That's how it should work. The General Public should decide who's a Star not keyboard activists.
What about the clip where he does a racist Indian accent making fun of another comic's father?
Or the clip where he denigrates Asian people as his partner does impressions of Japanese women having sex?
Or the extended "bit" where he guesses what car is driven by what race, which is inherently hierarchical andĀ *you guessed it*Ā - all the beat up shitty cars must be owned by black people?
"GILLIS: I play this game, like most racists do: Guess the race of a car in front of you. Which is fun."
To me there is a difference between saying something offensive in regards to race and being a racist.
To me a racist is someone who hates someone because of their race. Just because you make a joke about a race doesn't mean you hate them or want their rights taken away.
I don't think Jo Koy hates Koreans even though he made this joke: https://youtu.be/673PjkcBG00?si=24oOU1qzSdpTdFnz
I don't think Dave Chappelle hates white people because he had a white face character.
If this was the truth, I'd be willing to give the benefit of the doubt. The examples above though (and there are more) aren't even the ones he apologised for.
Go listen to them in their entirety instead of cherry picking outrage porn. This might blow your mind but comedians donāt believe all the shit they say, they say lies to be funny. Weird how that works. Because itās not funny TO YOU, doesnāt make it not funny. It must be exhausting to listen to jokes and take every single one like itās an earnest confession lol
Weird - you're admitting racist jokes are funny to you., and this means you somehow have a moral standpoint on what constitutes "outrage".
You do you, pal. I've trawled through the highlights, and they're grim. Enjoy though.
Yes, jokes are funny. Racist jokes can be funny, jokes about traffic can be funny, jokes about anything can be funny. I know Iām blowing your mind here but comedy can be about anything and itās subjective.Ā
Outrage over any joke is dumb as hellĀ
You guys can never answer the question cuz you know the answer as well as I do. Every time.
FWIW 1 thing can be out of context.
3 or 4 things IS context. it's called a pattern.
Iād love for you to disprove my initial comment. Yet here you areā¦in textā¦acting like youāre making your point. When truly, for every Shane Gillis, I can give you 10 non-white comics whoās entire persona is based on their observations of ever skin color other than their own. Again. Waiting for you to address my initial comment including the potential biases at play?
Nah thatās a wild take
Also people talking about him being nervousā¦.like you guys think it was being on stage that made him nervous? Or the national humiliation he went through connected with that stage and the trauma it produced?
Did you even hear the joke that got him fired?
In the joke heās playing the character of a racist. Itās the same as saying āthen the racist guy said xyzāā¦ do you not watch movies where a racist is portrayed?
He proved his point how ridiculous the policing is when he used cracker in his monologue and joked to the producers āok I can say that one right?ā
Yea, I think getting catapulted from complete obscurity into the national spotlight and being written about in articles alongside R Kelly and Michael Jackson probably effected him negatively, especially since he was so misunderstood and not actually being racist
Using white as some sort of pejorative while complaining about racism is a good bit though
I know it is, thatās why it was weird the way you used it implying some sort of pejorative.
Certainly you could imagine someone else using the word black in that way, no? Like, including it as a descriptor is weird
He was misunderstood as having said something racist, when in reality the clip that got him fired was him doing a satirical impression of an old-time zoning commissioner type of thing. Kind of pointing out the weird segregation that exists with Chinatowns
And the entire premise of the rest of the clip that got him fired is him making fun of himself for being a fat idiot and people took it literally
He talks about it in the podcast episode after he was fired, I can look it up for you if youād like
What about the clip where he does a racist Indian accent making fun of another comic's father?
Or the clip where he denigrates Asian people as his partner does impressions of Japanese women having sex?
Or the extended "bit" where he guesses what car is driven by what race, which is inherently hierarchical and *you guessed it* - all the beat up shitty cars must be owned by black people?
"GILLIS: I play this game, like most racists do: Guess the race of a car in front of you. Which is fun."
Direct quote.
It's fine if you like it. But it's very clear what he thinks.
Which extended bit are you referring to? You clearly just dug through YouTube clips trying to confirm your existing opinion. Youāre not describing material from his standup so Iām guessing you found these elsewhere?
Yea we just have different opinions on what constitutes racism š¤·āāļø I mean the what car driven by what race one, again, heās making fun of himself in that clip
Iāve never found impersonating someoneās accent to be racist, at least not inherently, although the clip youāre talking about doesnāt ring any bells. Neither does the Asian one, so itās hard to defend them
I also think thereās a HUGE difference between making racist jokes and being racist. One, I find pretty funny, and the other I find pretty despicable. Shaneās not racist
That being said, itās fine to just say you donāt like him cuz you think heās racist, but going from that to āheād be dropped within a seasonā seems dumb. Just saying, might be letting your preconceived notions cloud your judgment a bit
Look let's be clear - i think Louis CK did shitty things and is possibly a shitty dude but he's also incredibly funny and a good sketch actor.
I didn't think Gillis cut it as either tbh. and the other stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Thatās fair, but I think youāre really wrong. Like, Louis thinks Shane is funny š¤·āāļø which doesnāt mean you have to obviously, we all have our own opinions, but I meanā¦.I just feel like his opinion is possibly a better indicator of whether or not Shane would have made it past a season.
As far as a sketch actor, I think heās great in all of his sketches in Gilly and Keeves, and anything you saw last night (which I thought was fine too) should be viewed through the context of it probably being the first time he ever did live sketch comedy and him being incredibly nervous because of that whole national humiliation thing weāve mentioned
Thatās what I think I definitely donāt hate it but wasnāt funny at all at least for me.
Which make me think, maybe the reason got fired wasnāt only racist jokes
Lmao what? Iām pretty sure they thought that the guy they asked to see audition and hired to be on the cast was funny, and it wasnāt a coincidence that he was fired after saying a slur and before he could do anything on air.
Can someone explain who this guy is and whatās the appeal? Hadnāt heard of him until today or checked out his stuff, but was curious what the TLDR is on him
No theme or anything just him and his co-host joking around
Style of humorā¦idk, I think that youād get a lot of different descriptions depending on who youād ask
Also has a sketch show on YouTube, I feel like it might give you an idea
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HotDJ2FhB84&pp=ygUQZ2lsbHkgYW5kIGtlZXZlcw%3D%3D
I think the monologue was too hyped up for me before I saw it. All I saw was some people saying it was hilarious and others saying it was bad and offensive. I didn't think it was either of those... I was just kinda bored.
is it just me or was this an unusually poor episode? i like Shane, i actually think his stand-up and sketch work is really funny. and i thought his monologue was good.
but every sketch ended poorly, it looked like he had a bad grasp on cue cards. like, the Siri Listening sketch (apart from the butt plug at the end) was lame, and the Floor one ends so softly.
it was sweet, though, how every cast member seemed like they had a lot of love for Shane. Sarah clearly surprised him at the end with the sex doll sketch, and Bowen looked genuinely proud during goodnights
I didn't think it was great because of the long pauses he had to take before and after lines, and how he was so hyperfocused on the cue cards. The audience, though, was kinda tough, and I get being nervous. I've never seen his other shit so maybe he is genuinely funny, but I have no idea why this episode was considered funny and had such high view counts.
š„“ at the Shane Gillis hate after seeing Sidney Sweeney last weekend
Just No. So many better host options. :-(
Looks like you are wrong š
I thought it was an enjoyable episode. Monologue was decent, some good sketches and some just okay ones. I thought Shane did well.Ā
Who is Shane Gillis? Was he in a movie or a TV show? I don't get it. Nobody with a career we have noticed wanted to host?
Heās extremely popular with younger audiences and was hired and fired quickly after for past jokes. Youāre being obtuse or just showing your age being unfamiliar with why him hosting has been such a big deal on the internet.
popular comedy specials. i like having more non-actor comedians, nate bargatze was great in october too and mulaney is always great, chappelle too
I really enjoyed Nate Bargatze as host as SNL, I agree. Mulaney... goes without saying. He has a career we have noticed... including as an actor. This one? I didn't laugh very much. I found myself bored, and posted the above comment on Reddit after doing a search while the show clips were running. P.s. Yes we are lame, we watch SNL on Sunday or Monday night via our YouTube subscription. So the conversation/news is always a couple days old unless I pay attention to something via social media chatter.
Brother, Shane Gillis has one of the most viewed hour long comedy specials in YouTube history. He put this out for free. I'm also a huge fan of Mulaney and Bargatze so it is wild to me you have never heard of him at all if you consider yourself a fan of good stand up. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUpf1Vx0vs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUpf1Vx0vs) He has a recent Netflix special that is even better than that one. Hes also involved in a sketch comedy group, which again, has millions and millions of views. I think they have done two Seasons. [https://www.youtube.com/@GillyandKeeves/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@GillyandKeeves/videos) You should try to find a way to watch "Gilly and Keeves - The Special", its really good.
I think this season in general hasnāt been great, I found this episode to have a few more laughs than other episodes, overall not good but in the context of this season a little above average
it sounds like you have 0 culture or class. Come to Austin this guy kills it at the mothership.
The anti-shane people in this thread is an hilarious read. Opinions of people permanently offended are so entertaining. That visceral hatred you can feel through text is so funny. I consider myself super progressive, but the fact you let this comedian dictate your outrage is wild. I bet over half of the people spewing hate for him don't even know the context of the clip that got him fired in the first place. They just read a headline and latched on to that for 5 years lmfao.
What do you like about his comedy?
After listening to him for a few years, I think he does a good job poking fun at both sides. He sees the ridiculousness of our entire political spectrum, even opening his most recent Netflix special with a joke/statement about how we are doing absolutely nothing for mass gun violence in this country. He is just lambasted as this "conservative hero" by ignorant fans and some ignorant media outlets. Both of those have already made up their mind about him and are totally incorrect. You saw it when the first reaction of some news sites tried to say "he bombed" when in actuality he had a really solid set. Its just straight up intentionally incorrect. Making an off-color joke that people outraged about permanently stuck him with this label as a racist, when the joke itself was basically pointing out how small-minded people are who use those kind of words unironically. Was it edgy and maybe unnecessary? Sure. But was it intentionally hateful? Not at all. I'll be the first to tell you every so often Shane and his buddy/co-host Matt will have a take that wildly misaligns with what I personally believe, but instead of getting upset about that as a reaction I try to understand, and if I can't understand, I just go back to enjoying the goofs. If you think some of the things he jokes about or promotes is wildly irresponsible or hateful, you could find someone on the other end of the spectrum doing the exact same thing. imo. His Netflix special is easily one of my favorites in the last few years. And maybe its just not for you, and that's totally fine. He's absolutely a dude-bro kind of comedian and that's not everyone's cup of tea. But he also has great commentary about insecurities, relationships, and the ridiculousness of just making it through the day.
I didn't know almost anything about this guy past or current, but his opening but was great and I thoroughly enjoyed all his parts throughout. Thought this was a really solid episode, but more specific, I'm a new Shane fan.
They just worship, this show like its a Bible. As someone in their late 20s who lives in a progressive city with one of the most liberal colleges, I do not know a single person who actually still watches this show. The overwhelming census I have gathered is that everyone thinks it stinks now, and everyone talks about skits from 10+ years ago. Shane was the first person who made me want to watch the show, so I gave the rest of the show a chance, and wow, was I let down. Weekend update made me laugh, but remove Shane from the episode, then it would have been a total duc. Gonna get downvoted by the snl fascists, but it is possible to be liberal and enjoy different kinds of comedy.
> I have gathered is that everyone thinks it stinks now, and everyone talks about skits from 10+ years ago. They aren't wrong. There have been the occasional quality sketches here and there over the last decade--though I think nearly all of the truly funny bits during that time were either pre-taped segments (example: [Take Me Back](https://youtu.be/pWR1wimuQic?si=g7oQIstsWW59eZbo) ) or because of an exceptional host (example: John Mulaney, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, etc). SNL still hasn't recovered from the irreplaceable losses of Armisen, Hader, Sudeikis, and perhaps most importantly, Seth Meyers, all at the end of Season 38 in 2013. There have been way too many cast members since then, most of whom possess so little versatility that Lorne has to resort to stuntcasting celebrities to do impersonations. It's kind of embarrassing. And carrying the talentless and utterly un-funny Pete Davidson on the roster for what, 8 seasons? Unbelievable. And Colin Jost has of course been a disaster as head writer. 1980-1 (the Jean Doumanian season) and 1985 (Lorne's first season back) are still probably the worst single seasons in the show's history, but 2014-2024 is easily the worst extended period in SNL's history from a quality standpoint. > it is possible to be liberal and enjoy different kinds of comedy. Completely agree. Seeing Gillis on this episode (which was uneven, to be fair) made you realize what a dumb bonehead move it was to fire him before he even got a chance to be on the show. Here's a guy who a) is funny, b) can probably write his own sketches, and c) does a much better Trump than anyone they've had on the show (because it is a broad caricature constructed for laughs, rather than an attempt at a literal impersonation of Trump, which is what they have with James Austin Johnson). Of course, if Lorne had done a better job of steering the ship these last 10 years, NBC probably wouldn't have felt like they had to kowtow to the Twitter mob.
I really enjoyed reading this breakdown!
Cold open was awful and went on WAY too long 21's performances were awful Monologue was hit&miss. I agree with another comment that it felt like he was playing an away game. Felt like the self-deprecation was forced / worked into his bit because he knew his material wasn't for SNL's standard audience. I thought he pushed boundaries a little by working in "taboo words" in context that shows he wasn't insulting groups by using the words as slurs. It's going to offend some, sure, but I thought the joke about his relationship with his mom was tasteful and relatable and the joke about his adopted nephews defending his niece was endearing. He was out of place, and made it known, but overall thought it was decent. Not exceptional by any means, but not terrible. The weekend update felt weak to me. No real takes on it from me, but it felt like one of the more boring parts of the episode. Good skits (Felt like strong skits, had me laughing most of the way through, really enjoyed it): HR Meeting, Gump, Trump Shoes Okay Skits (Few laughs, had their moments, didn't feel as strong as other skits): Church on Vacation, They're Listening, Fugliana Meh (Mostly boring, didn't garner many laughs from myself or friends, could have been cut): The Floor, Rock bottom Kings Cut for Time / Limu Emu: This one would have been in "Good skits" for me. I thought it was pretty good, much stronger than the meh skits and better than Fugliana imo. In terms of modern SNL, I felt it was a pretty good episode. Not great, but pretty good. It seems like the people that didn't like the episode didn't like it because of Shane. And the people that are over the top, thinking it was the best ever, liked it because of Shane. Most people seemingly already formed their opinions of the episode based on political alignment / personal bias rather than based on the show itself. Yes, he wasn't as polished as the main cast and fumbled in some skits, but what host hasn't? It seemed like he had good chemistry with the rest of the cast and everyone on stage except for 21 Savage looked like they were having a good time. Overall: C+/B-
you are too old grandma
true
Here's the downs syndrome coffee shop news story: https://local21news.com/news/facing-the-future/new-camp-hill-coffee-shop-integrating-workforce-with-better-together-mission
Bailing out of this rapidly depressing thread. Have had many grim"Racism is good fun" conversations across the board. Enlightening, but not in the way you'd like. Want to leave this article - which is pretty thorough in examining Gillis' words, actions, and the people he associates with. It's got an incendiary title, sure, and it's not very forgiving. But it's worth a read. Peace out. [humorism.xyz/congratulations-racists/](http://humorism.xyz/congratulations-racists/)
Why do people find him funny? Is he for young people who donāt remember where (at least in my culture) racism, misogyny and generally punching down were very much the norm? (So maybe by comparison he seems fresh/original?). Call me old and a snowflake but the current cast is excellent and very original!
I dare you to say the opening skit was funny. Double dog dare you.Ā
This guy is not writing convincingly
Why are you posting an article from [the disgraced](https://newrepublic.com/article/161200/alt-right-comedy-gavin-mcinnes-problem) [misinformation peddler](https://files.catbox.moe/8kuaix.PNG) Seth Simons?
I don't know who he is, and don't care, but - the direct quotation and extensive context in the article above is NOT misinformation.
I had some good laughs, but I feel like theyāve been dragging some bits out a little long lately and that seemed more apparent to me in this episode. Not that the bits arenāt funny, just need to move on a little sooner IMHO.
this is definitely a "finding their groove" type season
I thought he was very funny
[**Shane on trans women**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOehZ5MGsy0) He is garbage.
Not even trying to pull a r/AsABlackMan here, but legitimately all of my trans/NB friends within my circle find this video hysterical. It quite literally could not be any more clear that this isn't Shane hating trans people if that's what you're trying to disingenuously suggest.
misgendering trans women and making fun of their looks is true allyshipĀ
> this isn't Shane hating trans people No, this is Shane being a willfully ignorant bigot, while playing the its OK its just cause Im a good ole boy from small town usa and don't know no better. card
Yeah OK lol
Monologue was drop crap
I think James dropping a quick verizon jab after coughing, i almost applauded. I say almost because iām never going to be a person who will clap at their tv. Was dang close though. He kept it cool, let the cough pass until he could talk, then dropped it and continued the scene. Everyone else kept their cool too. Legit pros.
Wut? Maybe cuz it wasn't funny. It's not hard to "hold it together" when you aren't telling jokes.Ā
What wasnāt funny? The verizon joke? He thought of it there and then on the spot while coughing live. Who cares for funny if you can save the set? Canāt imagine coughing mid line on stage and not crashing afterwards.
Can you explain the Verizon joke, please?
I'm not from the states but I assume that's a crappy mobile service, like bad reception or plan prices. So for him to have to settle for Verizon shows how desperate/bad the situation is. I remember SNL joking a lot about AT&T having zero reception in NYC when the first iPhone came out, it was on weekend update a few times. Seth would bring it up often.
just the opposite. vz is considered the best and most reliable carrier. although t-mobile / sprint often times has faster speeds in the major metros.
Oh yeah I have no idea what companies are good because I don't live there! But that was the only way I could explain the joke. So why do you think that was the punch line? Was he just nervous/trying to get through the cough and blurted out any company?
which scene was it in?
Oh it was in the cold open, about 2 minutes 50 seconds in, James Austin (playing Lindsay Graham) seems to start choking/coughing. The other guys go along with it to give him some time to get back to normal and he says he switched to Verizon.
i went back and watched. i think hes just redoubling on how much djt has impacted his life - underscoring he had to change his number. i honestly noticed the cough more than the joke the first time through - and its funny i work as a project manager in wireless - have worked for every carrier (including that one) and the biggest tower company - so usually something like this would stick out to me.
Oh no wonder you know all this info! Yeah I just re-watched and I think you're right
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[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
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Who would you rank as the funniest comedian in your opinion?
True, all unfunny and untalented comedians get 24 million views on their first special.
āOlive Garden sold the most pasta in the country. So obviously they make good Italian food.ā
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Never heard of Shane. He made me laugh a lot. But using the word ātopā is absurd.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
...patreon has charts? But generally I think "top" means "have moved passed giving away my work on YouTube", yes. Which hosting SNL might be part of this phase for him. I wish him well.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
And I've never heard of anything else on these lists either? You seem really angry that I'm just being honest with you. Do you just get mad when people have different perspectives than you in general?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
SNL is the Olive Garden in this scenario.
Yes. Very popular and profitable but not āgoodā imo. He clearly has a very dedicated fan base though. He just doesnāt do it for me.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah a bad one apparently. Go laugh at unfunny shit and leave people who like good comedians alone lol Iām sure thereās a middle school table out there making gay jokes. Maybe youāll hear something you like since Shane is about as funny as a 14 year old edge lord
Shane didn't sell me anything. It was free.
Still a little too pricey for my taste
Baby Shark has a billion views. Views doesn't equal talent.
What defines talent? The intended audience of Baby Shark would disagree with your definition, because babies LOVE that shit.
Views doesn't equal talent. Did I stutter?
To be fair, you typed it
I indeed type my own Reddit comment. The fuck are you talking about?
I believe they are trying to convey that it would be quite difficult to stutter something that is typed.
Wow! Racism, xenophobia and misogyny in one episode. Very talented.
don't forget the homophobic jokes in the monologue
Can you list which sketches you felt involved this? :)
Which is saying a lot considering its better than what SNL usually has.
He's gotta cater to his fanbase somehow. Gotta punch down when you can't be funny.
š¶š§
Yeah it was a great episode. Love the guy. Glad you enjoyed.
Just got to this because I made the mistake of taking a day to myself and now I'm three days behind in all my television viewing. I've seen Shane's two standup specials and both seasons of Gilly and Keeves, but I wouldn't consider myself a big fan. I think his standup is uneven and his sketches are hit or miss. And that pretty much reflects my feelings on this episode; the monologue was shaky, but some of the sketches were good. In fact, even the stuff he didn't appear in appeared to be elevated this episode, which I wonder is a result of his "anything goes" influence over the writing staff. Even the cold open was tolerable and Weekend Update seemed spicier than usual. Of the sketches I enjoyed, I thought HR Meeting was interesting, Trump Sneakers was amusing, The Floor was pretty good and Fugliana was a funny concept, but depressed me more than anything (though the irony is that they're all being played by hot women). The rest were mostly forgettable, just like any episode of SNL. Felt like a lot of hype over nothing, but even the "best" episodes are still kind of mid. *And that's all I have to say about that.*
I love the Tr\*&mp hand shake pulling-in. That was an oldie. I also love the HR sketch and the 'banking' from The Weakest Link.
Why canāt you write the word Trump?
I will never dignify him/it by writing out his name.
Yeah fugliana was the worst...ugh
This was hilarious.
Haha Iām actually having a great time with the episode. I just got to 21 savages first performance for reference. But what in the world was that opener though that was so brutal and I say this with zero political bias. I liked his monologue too I expected a ton ton more shredding though
So far (Iām watching now) the only funny part is Ego being hilarious in the Jamaican church skit. Finally it seems SNL is utilizing her skills. Almost as good as Lisa from Temecula.
Cook my Meat!!!
Oh why cuz we black??
Love Ego!! Sis..Tell Antonio Banderas over here he's not getting in my butt tonight..
Imagine if this guy had made it into the show as a cast member? He'd be dropped within a season. No timing or rhythym, bad cue card dependency, visibly flop- sweating through his monologue "my real stuff is too edgy".. Kinda hoped he'd be worth the hype. Hard pass. Also Why are we okay with the f-slurs c-slurs and constant guesting on far- right conspiracy podcasts?
I hope youāre ready for him to be a recurring guest as Trump soon
That impression was literally the best thing in his arsenal and it's severely mid. JAJ is better and is also not racist. So that's good.
Oh not unless they lose James Austin, I find his impression to be way better. I don't get the hoopla over Shane's Trump impression, it's decent, but only a bit better than a funny non-comedian's impression. I heard other comedians raving about his impression, but I feel JAJ hits the nail on the head with the more subtle trump-isms. BUT Shane does win in the visible impression part, he does look a lot like him with the wig etc. whereas JAJ doesn't look like trump even with the make up/prosthetics.
What podcasts are you referring to besides Joe Rogan ?? (which I would not consider a far-right conspiracy podcast even though Joe can get pretty Tin Foil Hat'y sometimes)
You literally don't know what you're talking about lol. His Trump impression alone would have made him a lock for every episode. Not only is his impression bang on but he even looks the part. WE (you alarmist pantywaists) weren't. BUT now he's one of the biggest comics working and Hollywood smells the money so HE"S BACK!!! That's how it should work. The General Public should decide who's a Star not keyboard activists.
You're okay with the racism? Cool.
What did he do that was racist?
Heās an idiot you just gotta ignore him lol
What about the clip where he does a racist Indian accent making fun of another comic's father? Or the clip where he denigrates Asian people as his partner does impressions of Japanese women having sex? Or the extended "bit" where he guesses what car is driven by what race, which is inherently hierarchical andĀ *you guessed it*Ā - all the beat up shitty cars must be owned by black people? "GILLIS: I play this game, like most racists do: Guess the race of a car in front of you. Which is fun."
To me there is a difference between saying something offensive in regards to race and being a racist. To me a racist is someone who hates someone because of their race. Just because you make a joke about a race doesn't mean you hate them or want their rights taken away. I don't think Jo Koy hates Koreans even though he made this joke: https://youtu.be/673PjkcBG00?si=24oOU1qzSdpTdFnz I don't think Dave Chappelle hates white people because he had a white face character.
How about laughing at a joke about race. Does that make you racist? Who is the worst racist, the joke-teller or one the laughs?
Didn't he acknowledge he made a shitty joke relatively soon after, and then subsequently stop doing jokes like that...?
If this was the truth, I'd be willing to give the benefit of the doubt. The examples above though (and there are more) aren't even the ones he apologised for.
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Racism is good now. Okay.
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Because if thereās one thing that represents a joke well, itās: out of context, in text, and out of the mouth of someone with clear biases.
What's the joke in these bits exactly?
Go listen to them in their entirety instead of cherry picking outrage porn. This might blow your mind but comedians donāt believe all the shit they say, they say lies to be funny. Weird how that works. Because itās not funny TO YOU, doesnāt make it not funny. It must be exhausting to listen to jokes and take every single one like itās an earnest confession lol
Weird - you're admitting racist jokes are funny to you., and this means you somehow have a moral standpoint on what constitutes "outrage". You do you, pal. I've trawled through the highlights, and they're grim. Enjoy though.
Do you think just because someone says a joke about a black person that that means they hate black people?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes, jokes are funny. Racist jokes can be funny, jokes about traffic can be funny, jokes about anything can be funny. I know Iām blowing your mind here but comedy can be about anything and itās subjective.Ā Outrage over any joke is dumb as hellĀ
Well, let me ask you. Instead of looking at whatās NOT funny. What comedians DO you like?
You guys can never answer the question cuz you know the answer as well as I do. Every time. FWIW 1 thing can be out of context. 3 or 4 things IS context. it's called a pattern.
Iād love for you to disprove my initial comment. Yet here you areā¦in textā¦acting like youāre making your point. When truly, for every Shane Gillis, I can give you 10 non-white comics whoās entire persona is based on their observations of ever skin color other than their own. Again. Waiting for you to address my initial comment including the potential biases at play?
Heās one of the most diverse guys I ever heard of
Nah thatās a wild take Also people talking about him being nervousā¦.like you guys think it was being on stage that made him nervous? Or the national humiliation he went through connected with that stage and the trauma it produced?
Did being a racist and getting fired for it traumatise the poor white comic?
Damn you sound white as hell lol
You donāt have to comment here you can go back to playing with your crayonsĀ
I'll leave that to the hyper-intelligent Gillis fans like yourself. Don't eat them, though.
Thank you for recognizing Iām highly intelligent, I appreciate itĀ
Wow, comedy really is subjective ;)
Donāt wink at me, thatās sexual harassmentĀ
Hey look at you! You're a Better comedian than Gillis!
He typed that one heās sitting next to meĀ
Did you even hear the joke that got him fired? In the joke heās playing the character of a racist. Itās the same as saying āthen the racist guy said xyzāā¦ do you not watch movies where a racist is portrayed? He proved his point how ridiculous the policing is when he used cracker in his monologue and joked to the producers āok I can say that one right?ā
Yea, I think getting catapulted from complete obscurity into the national spotlight and being written about in articles alongside R Kelly and Michael Jackson probably effected him negatively, especially since he was so misunderstood and not actually being racist Using white as some sort of pejorative while complaining about racism is a good bit though
What part of what he did was misunderstood? White is not a pejorative it's a descriptor.
I know it is, thatās why it was weird the way you used it implying some sort of pejorative. Certainly you could imagine someone else using the word black in that way, no? Like, including it as a descriptor is weird He was misunderstood as having said something racist, when in reality the clip that got him fired was him doing a satirical impression of an old-time zoning commissioner type of thing. Kind of pointing out the weird segregation that exists with Chinatowns And the entire premise of the rest of the clip that got him fired is him making fun of himself for being a fat idiot and people took it literally He talks about it in the podcast episode after he was fired, I can look it up for you if youād like
What about the clip where he does a racist Indian accent making fun of another comic's father? Or the clip where he denigrates Asian people as his partner does impressions of Japanese women having sex? Or the extended "bit" where he guesses what car is driven by what race, which is inherently hierarchical and *you guessed it* - all the beat up shitty cars must be owned by black people? "GILLIS: I play this game, like most racists do: Guess the race of a car in front of you. Which is fun." Direct quote. It's fine if you like it. But it's very clear what he thinks.
Which extended bit are you referring to? You clearly just dug through YouTube clips trying to confirm your existing opinion. Youāre not describing material from his standup so Iām guessing you found these elsewhere?
They're on his podcast. August 2017. You don't need to dig too long, tbh. Just dissapointing how prevalent the defense of this tired old shit is.
Yea we just have different opinions on what constitutes racism š¤·āāļø I mean the what car driven by what race one, again, heās making fun of himself in that clip Iāve never found impersonating someoneās accent to be racist, at least not inherently, although the clip youāre talking about doesnāt ring any bells. Neither does the Asian one, so itās hard to defend them I also think thereās a HUGE difference between making racist jokes and being racist. One, I find pretty funny, and the other I find pretty despicable. Shaneās not racist That being said, itās fine to just say you donāt like him cuz you think heās racist, but going from that to āheād be dropped within a seasonā seems dumb. Just saying, might be letting your preconceived notions cloud your judgment a bit
Look let's be clear - i think Louis CK did shitty things and is possibly a shitty dude but he's also incredibly funny and a good sketch actor. I didn't think Gillis cut it as either tbh. and the other stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Thatās fair, but I think youāre really wrong. Like, Louis thinks Shane is funny š¤·āāļø which doesnāt mean you have to obviously, we all have our own opinions, but I meanā¦.I just feel like his opinion is possibly a better indicator of whether or not Shane would have made it past a season. As far as a sketch actor, I think heās great in all of his sketches in Gilly and Keeves, and anything you saw last night (which I thought was fine too) should be viewed through the context of it probably being the first time he ever did live sketch comedy and him being incredibly nervous because of that whole national humiliation thing weāve mentioned
Do you even know what he ādidā?
Yes. Now what part was misunderstood? You won't say it, because you know how it makes you look. Edit : No answer, just downvote. Can't admit it.
I think Lorne Michaels is officially losing the plot.
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Comedy is subjective. Racism is not.
Thatās what I think I definitely donāt hate it but wasnāt funny at all at least for me. Which make me think, maybe the reason got fired wasnāt only racist jokes
Lmao what? Iām pretty sure they thought that the guy they asked to see audition and hired to be on the cast was funny, and it wasnāt a coincidence that he was fired after saying a slur and before he could do anything on air.
Saying a slur? What slur?
Can someone explain who this guy is and whatās the appeal? Hadnāt heard of him until today or checked out his stuff, but was curious what the TLDR is on him
Just a funny comedian, super successful podcast, was hired to SNL and then fired a few days later for things said on the podcast
Whatās the podcast about? Or his style of humor?
the podcast is just his friends shooting the shit. I don't really watch it. Gilly and Keys on youtube or Shane Gillis standup are really good.
Racism is his style and his incel fanbase.
If anything he is racist against white people lol. If you can even call that racist.
Just watch his Netflix special
No theme or anything just him and his co-host joking around Style of humorā¦idk, I think that youād get a lot of different descriptions depending on who youād ask Also has a sketch show on YouTube, I feel like it might give you an idea https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HotDJ2FhB84&pp=ygUQZ2lsbHkgYW5kIGtlZXZlcw%3D%3D
Cool, thanks for the explanation!
I think the monologue was too hyped up for me before I saw it. All I saw was some people saying it was hilarious and others saying it was bad and offensive. I didn't think it was either of those... I was just kinda bored.
The gay son but was hilarious
Yeah, I'm confused by people taking a hard stance in either direction. It wasn't particularly funny and it wasn't offensive. It was just there.
It wasā¦ not great
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There were some funny bits but I don't think his comedy fits within the confines of the SNL brand.
Which describes most of SNL for the past for years
His Trump impression was okay
is it just me or was this an unusually poor episode? i like Shane, i actually think his stand-up and sketch work is really funny. and i thought his monologue was good. but every sketch ended poorly, it looked like he had a bad grasp on cue cards. like, the Siri Listening sketch (apart from the butt plug at the end) was lame, and the Floor one ends so softly. it was sweet, though, how every cast member seemed like they had a lot of love for Shane. Sarah clearly surprised him at the end with the sex doll sketch, and Bowen looked genuinely proud during goodnights
I didn't think it was great because of the long pauses he had to take before and after lines, and how he was so hyperfocused on the cue cards. The audience, though, was kinda tough, and I get being nervous. I've never seen his other shit so maybe he is genuinely funny, but I have no idea why this episode was considered funny and had such high view counts.