The beginning of the Trump era meant big things for Saturday Night Live -- among them, the show's highest viewership in more than two decades. While SNL has had to adjust course in Year 2 (thanks, in part, to Alec Baldwin's reduced schedule and overall Trump fatigue), returning alumni, like Bill Hader and Will Ferrell, have ensured that NBC's sketch show retains its sense of fun -- and decent ratings.
Read on for some of our favorite moments from 2018 (and if you've seen them all, check out the funniest SNL sketches from 2017).
15. "Jurassic Park Auditions"
Episode date: March 17
To commemorate Jurassic Park's 25th anniversary, SNL unspooled their favorite discarded "screen tests" from 1992. So, yeah... really, just an excuse for a bunch of great celebrity impressions. Pete Davidson, as Adam Sandler, was an especially nice surprise.
14. "Tucci Gang"
Episode date: January 13
Lil Pump's mind-numbingly repetitive "Gucci Gang" hit has spawned several worthy edits, but none quite as weirdly touching as SNL's "Tucci Gang," both a pitch-perfect parody and a hilarious homage to character actor Stanley Tucci. "Thirty-two years in the biz, I'm a big fan of his. I got mad respect for his range. He should've been Dr. Strange," spat Pete Davidson, mimicking Pump. "The Devil Wears Prada was sick. If you don't like Stan, you're a dick!" Fair.
13. "Chantix Commercial"
Episode date: January 13
The commercials for Chantix, the popular prescription drug used to treat nicotine addiction, often pride themselves on not using actors. Enter Kelly (Cecily Strong), someone who's not technically a professional actor, but used to be -- and still really wants to be -- one. In other words, the perfect candidate for a testimony that has no chance of staying on track.
12. "Reality Stars"
Episode date: January 27
Awful one second, more awful the next. As the stars of Kings and Queens of Santa Clarita, Will Ferrell and Cecily Strong were supposed to be enjoying a "sweet, back-home moment" with their old friends in Flagstaff. As you might have guessed, things went real bad once the cameras surfaced. The ambush recalled the best Ferrell, the one whose goal during his tenure on SNL was to make his castmates break character -- and mission accomplished.
11. "Dinner Discussion"
Episode date: January 27
Living in a post-Babe-dot-net universe means having hard conversations with your friends about things like Aziz Ansari and the #MeToo movement. ("Waaaaaaaatch it.") Sure, none of that sounds fun, but strong writing and acting made this tightrope act a success.
10. "Fresh Prince"
Episode date: January 20
If you grew up in the '90s, you're probably familiar with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme. But have you ever stopped and wondered what happened to those guys who were up to no good? "Turns out, the guys I fought weren't regular thugs, they were a powerful gang, running guns and drugs. And because of our fight, one went to jail, so they followed me out to Bel-Air," Chris Redd explained in this parody, which co-starred Method Man and Jessica Chastain. An FBI twist, some Uncle Phil heroics, and the birth of someone named Jasper Mitchell made this the fan fiction we didn't know we needed.
9. "Family Dinner - Shrek"
Episode date: March 10
Find someone who loves you as much as Justin (Sterling K. Brown) loves Shrek. Actually, on second thought...
8. "Natalie's Rap 2"
Episode date: February 3
Wielding Tide Pods, a special Andy Samberg appearance, and lyrics like "Say somethin' 'bout the motherfuckin' prequels, bitch," Natalie Portman reclaimed her bad-gal image and struck fear in the hearts of a certain breed of Star Wars fans. Sure, the long-awaited -- 10 years! -- sequel to "Natalie's Rap" might not have been all that surprising, but it definitely didn't disappoint. A feat all the more impressive considering how quickly it had to come together.
7. "Undercover Office Potty"
Episode date: March 17
As Johnson (Beck Bennett) demonstrated, not all infomercial voiceovers have your back. Especially when the product they're selling is a not-at-all discreet toilet. This wasn't necessarily the weirdest Beck-and-Kyle sketch we'd ever seen, but it was definitely the grossest. In the best way.
6. "Science Show"
Episode date: January 13
Appearing as Mr. Science, a '90s PBS Kids host who was almost as bad with kids as Ben Stiller was in Heavyweights, Sam Rockwell made a big boo-boo. He was supposed to show his junior scientists (Cecily Strong and Mikey Day) what happens when you add oil to water, but when one of his non-true-or-false questions yielded a true and a false, he erupted, saying, "You can't be this fucking stupid!" Strong and Day -- terrific throughout -- rolled with the slip-up, and Kristen Stewart welcomed Rockwell into SNL's F-Bombers Club with open arms.
5. "Bachelor Finale Cold Open"
Episode date: March 10
This near shot-for-shot parody of the Bachelor's recent bombshell finale sent 27-year-old publicist Becca Kufrin (Cecily Strong) to face someone she thought she could trust: 73-year-old special counsel Robert Mueller (Kate McKinnon). What followed wasn't just a break-up, but a political break-up. For Mueller, America's disappointing sweetheart, was falling more for obstruction than collusion. Coming in a slot that's usually reserved for sketches that play like a string of quippy Trump headlines, this was a refreshingly creative cold open.
4. "Girlfriends Game Night"
Episode date: March 17
An instant classic. As part of his hosting gig, Bill Hader played Horace, an elderly gentleman whose dying-giraffe groans and reckless wheelchair driving broke everyone onstage -- including himself. It was the kind of beautiful mayhem that really underlined the Live part of Saturday Night Live, as even the furniture had to put up a fight.
3. "George W. Bush Returns"
Episode date: January 27
With Trump in the White House, there's been a lot of misguided "I miss Dubya" sentiment. "Donnie Q. Trump came in and suddenly I'm lookin' pretty sweet by comparison. At this rate, I might even end up on Mount Rushmore, right next to Washington, Lincoln, and I wanna say, uh, Kensington," Will Ferrell said in this cold open, reviving his classic impression and reminding viewers that, uh, yeah, Bush wasn't good. "Don't forget we're still in two different wars that I started -- hey, what has two thumbs and created ISIS? This guy." This piece was almost depressingly good -- because it mostly made you miss Ferrell -- but it was nice of him to bring the American public back down to earth.
2. "Stefon on St. Patrick's Day"
Episode date: March 17
The magical thing about Bill Hader's old Stefon appearances on SNL was they were always failed attempts at self-control. Longtime collaborator John Mulaney famously messed with him by putting new jokes on the cue cards in between dress rehearsal and the live show, essentially guaranteeing Hader would break character. Fortunately, when the fan-favorite character returned to the Weekend Update desk earlier this year, along with Mulaney, to recommend bars for St. Patrick's Day, that very same magic was on display.
1. "Black Jeopardy With Chadwick Boseman"
Episode date: April 7
You might have thought it tough to top Tom Hanks' Black Jeopardy! appearance, but SNL found a way: Black Panther. Reprising his role as T'Challa, Chadwick Boseman joined Leslie Jones (Shanice), Chris Redd (Rashad), and Kenan Thompson (host Darnell Hayes) for a quick game of trivia -- one that triumphantly blended pop culture and social commentary with Thompson's stellar mugging. Though the Marvel superhero stumbled early on, falling victim to Wakanda's isolationism:
Hayes: "The policeman says there's been some robberies in your neighborhood and asks if you have any information."
T'Challa: "What is, not only do I tell this man what I know, but I also assist him in tracking down the offender. After all, our ministers of law enforcement are only here to protect us -- is this correct?"
Hayes: "I mean... it should be! But I'm thinking you haven't spent much time in America."
Eventually, thanks to Karen and her potato salad, he got the hang of things.
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