Best moments of Shane Gillis’ episode (Oct. 10 2026)

“SNL” returned to the air for the third episode of its 52nd season on Saturday, October 10, with comedian Shane Gillis as host and Rosalia as musical guest.

Gillis has an interesting history with the show, having been hired as part of the cast in 2019 but then fired only days later before ever making an appearance due to off-color jokes he made about Asian-Americans on a podcast.

“SNL” showrunner Lorne Michaels has said that firing Gillis was not his choice and he was “angry” with NBC’s decision. Given that Gillis has now hosted three years in a row — on February 24, 2024, March 1, 2025, and last night — Michaels clearly holds the comedian in high esteem.

In his third stint, Gillis played to his strengths. He thrives in pre-tape sketches, including “Upfront Heating & Air Conditioning,” which had a similar energy to last year’s commercial parody, “CouplaBeers.” Like fellow comic and repeat host Nate Bargatze, Gillis sometimes struggles with reading cue cards, but usually makes up for it with his natural comic sensibility.

Missing a cue card got him in trouble during last night’s episode, however. During the “Green Eggs and Ham” sketch, Gillis started ad-libbing his lines and accidentally dropped an f-bomb. Mikey Day improvised a response later, throwing Gillis out of the house for “saying a bad word,” much to the delight of the “Saturday Night Live” studio audience.

Sidenote: Were you were rushing to Google after watching the “Sneakers” sketch, set in a 1920 boardroom meeting in Lowell, Massachusetts? Sadly, nothing about the sketch details the actual origin story of the rubber-soled shoe, which had nothing to do with Lowell (or sneaking up on women, for that matter).

Check out the videos below to see highlights from Shane Gillis’ episode of “SNL,” including Gillis’ opening monologue, a pair of musical performances from Rosalia, and all of the guests visiting the “Weekend Update” desk.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open

Shane Gillis Monologue

‘SNL’ Weekend Update Clips

Rosalia Musical Performances

Some of the Best ‘SNL’ Sketches