Colman Domingo made his Saturday Night Live debut Saturday night, and the show wasted no time going after the week’s biggest headlines.
The cold open featured James Austin Johnson’s Trump making urgent phone calls to Tiger Woods, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and first lady Melania Trump. Chloe Fineman’s Melania defended her recent press conference about Jeffrey Epstein, with Johnson’s Trump joking that the statement had managed to “make everyone way more suspicious.” The show also took aim at Trump and Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war. “Rest assured, sir. Iran is as obliterated as me every Saturday night, allegedly,” Colin Jost’s Hegseth said.
Domingo, 56, opened his monologue by rattling off a résumé that spans three decades, including Fear the Walking Dead, Lincoln and Sing Sing.
“I’m practically in everything,” he said. “Like raisins at a Caucasian cookout.”
But his real reputation, he said, has nothing to do with acting. “When you come to my house, the vibes are spectacular.” He then dimmed the lights, slowed the camera and walked into the crowd — at one point engineering a makeout session between two strangers in the audience.
The debut came at a busy moment for Domingo. Euphoria Season 3 — in which Domingo stars — drops Sunday on HBO. He also appears in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, out in two weeks.
Sketches included an Artemis II bit with astronauts documenting their return journey, a PBS science show parody and a sketch in which Domingo played a man who couldn’t let go of what a robber showed up wearing. SNL pulled the music on him before he could finish his goodbye.
Jeremy Culhane, Marcello Hernández, Ashley Padilla and host Colman Domingo during the “Grandpa’s Wake” sketch on “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, April 11, 2026 — (Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)
(NBC via Getty Images)
Brazilian pop star Anitta was the musical guest, previewing two tracks from Equilibrium, out Thursday. It was her first SNL appearance.
After this weekend, SNL goes on break. The season wraps in May with Olivia Rodrigo pulling double duty as host and musical guest, followed by Matt Damon and Will Ferrell. Paul McCartney closes out Season 51 as Will Ferrell’s musical guest on May 16.
