“ Saturday Night Live ” Cold Open Riffs on Vaccine Confusion with Anthony Fauci-Hosted Game Show



[ad_1]

UPDATE with video: Saturday Night Live opened tonight with a game show hosted by Anthony Fauci, So you think you can get the vaccine, a riff on the confusion over who can get the vaccine now and who can’t.

With Kate McKinnon returning as Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the skit provided an opportunity for the show to also embark on some satirical digs at three Democratic governors facing political turmoil. : The game show judges are Gavin Newsom (Alex Moffatt), Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) and Gretchen Whitmer (Cecily Strong).

Learn more about Deadline

“He’s hated by everyone in California except the 10 people he had dinner with in Napa that time,” Fauci said of introducing the Governor of the Golden State.

“What can I say. I love dinner, ”Newsom says.

Then to Cuomo, who was usurped last week. Since then, however, he has been accused of sexual harassment by two women, although he has denied the allegations.

McKinnon’s Fauci presents him with this: “He’s currently under fire for being with deaths and also for the kind of sexual harassment allegations that make you, yeah, I could see that.”

“Hello, beautiful bodies, some of you,” Cuomo said. “I know. I know. I’m in the dog house again. Remember when your favorite movie was my PowerPoints? Remember,” Today is Tuesday! Why can’t we come back here? I mean, come on.

Then to Whitmer, introduced as someone who “narrowly escaped kidnapping by a group of men whose fingerprints are likely covered in Cheetos dust.”

Whitmer says, “It is an honor to be here with my fellow governors. People are yelling at them about their policies and yelling at me, “Catch her!” But that’s life.”

Applicants must each show why they qualified for a vaccine, arguing why they were “essential”. As Fauci points out, an “essential” worker may differ in every state. In California, it’s “the police, hospital staff, neuropaths and psychics,” Newsom says. In Michigan, it’s “the fishermen, the truckers, the trappers and the dinghies,” Whitmer says. In New York City, they are “tough, wise, rich and good,” Cuomo says.

The first contestant is a woman from Michigan.

“Nice to see a fellow Michigander,” Whitmer says.

“I actually voted for you,” the woman said.

“It’s good,” said the governor.

“I voted for you to be kidnapped, but still,” the woman replies.

The woman thinks she is an essential worker and that she should get the vaccine because she is doing it for the “OnlyFans” website, so I a m busy.”

“Do you have any pre-existing conditions?” Whitmer asks.

“I have a really bad attitude. I’m allergic to dust and don’t know if it’s something, but I have herpes, ”the woman said.

Nix on this.

Fauci offers consolation prizes, like a Pfizer visor, and “if you don’t get the vaccine you could bring home Maxine, the cranky middle-aged woman from the Hallmark Cards.”

The other candidates are an alleged grandmother, a pregnant woman and a cigarette smoker from New Jersey. None are eligible. Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant) also tries to poke fun at the Texas senator’s attempt at humor at this week’s CPAC.

“Oh, it’s great to be back in New York. I’m sorry my arms are tired because I just got back from Cancun, Mexico, ”said Cruz, ending with his CPAC cry,“ FREEDOM!

Finally, the show returns to the last contestant: Seymour Foreman, 85, who qualifies for the vaccine.

“Do I have it here or behind the scenes?” he asks.

“Oh no, you can’t get it here, you have to make an appointment online,” Cuomo told him.

“What, how can I do this?” asks the old man. National and local websites for vaccine registrations are confusing and have collapsed.

The show gets a final dig at the New York governor’s house, as Cuomo assures the old man, “If you’re feeling sick, make sure you get to the nursing home and hospital. Wink.”

The opening was much more focused than the past few weeks, and perhaps the best lines were with game show sponsor CVS. As Fauci says, “Come for the show. Go with a lollipop from two Halloweens ago.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for the Deadline newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

[ad_2]

Source link