NBCSaturday Night Live is back!
The NBC sketch comedy series returned on Saturday to begin its 40th season, with first-time host Chris Pratt, who played a prince and a princess, a bad boy, a "booty" rapper and shady NFL players and even brought the romance!
Yes, his wife and actress Anna Faris was there to support hhim, and yes, their interactions on the show marked what are possibly the cutest moments on the series ever. The episode also marked the debut of a new, younger cast member, a revamped Weekend Update and performances from Ariana Grande.
Check out 7 of Pratt's best moments and rate his performance on SNL!
1. Pratt's musical monologue—hello, Anna!
The actor grabbed an acoustic guitar and sang a song, at one point referencing a "hottie in the audience." Faris, mother of their 2-year-old son Jack, who has hosted SNL herself before, was then shown watching her hubby.
"We had sex and a baby popped out," he sang. "It's true. Do you remember that?"
The Parks and Recreation star also mocked his past body transformations. The actor lost 60 pounds to play superhero Peter Quill in the recent summer movie Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and showcases a fit figure in the new movie Jurassic World, as seen in a publicity photo.
"I've gone from skinny to fat back to skinny back to fat, probably gonna die if I don't stop that," he sang.
2. He-Man and Lion-O
A shirtless Pratt played a dim-witted version of the '80s cartoon superhero He-Man ("The most powerful man in the universe," whose alter ego is Prince Adam), while Taran Killam portrayed another '80s animated favorite, Lion-O from Thundercats (and absolutely nailing the character's voice). The two appear when a boy, played by Kyle Mooney, wishes for his toys to come to life.
Lion-O appears to be going through stage 3 of Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, inspiring He-Man and delighting the boy's mom, played by Aidy Bryant.
Grande, who showcased her acting chops on Nickelodeon shows such as iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat, entered from stage right as He-Man's sister, She-Ra.
3. Mock Marvel movie trailers:
Pratt starred in a montage spoofing Marvel superhero movies, whose titles included Marvel's Bus People—a film focusing on "the first four people found on a city bus," Marvel's Pam and Pam 2: the Winter Pam and yep, Marvel's Star Wars, which saw the actor dressed as Princess Leia.
4. "Booty Rap" Night:
Pratt played an awkward guy who goes out with his friends to a bar and wants to hit on a woman, played by Bryant, but neither have any game. So they opt to perform smutty raps for each other.
5. "NFL Intros"
The NFL has come under fire for its handling of recent domestic violence cases involving their players. In this skit, Pratt and other male cast members played fake football stars who introduce themselves by stating their name and a bad act they committed. The actor's lines included "Victor Naples, whole bunch of stuff!," "Jeffrey Wilkins, involuntary prostitution!," Donald Washburn, American Taliban!" and "Barry Jenkins, I did some weird stuff on a cruise ship."
6. "Bad Boys"
In what appeared to be a parody of the often-preachy sitcoms of the ‘80s and ‘90s, complete with saxophone segues, Pratt played a teen who gets involved with a bad crowd ... played by little boys.
7. Kisses!
Pratt and Faris showed for the millionth time that they are among the cutest Hollywood couples ever in the final moments of SNL's premiere. She joined him on stage with the show performers and Grande and appeared to surprise him with her appearance, to which he responded with a tender, lingering smooch. They continued to kiss as the audience applauded. Love!
Non-Pratt-related highlights included:
New Weekend Update format + new and returning stars:
The Daily Show alum Michael Che made his debut as the mock newscast's first black anchor, joining returning star Colin Jost and marking the first time two male performers have anchored the segment.
Former Weekend Update co-anchor Cecily Strong did make an appearance as "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With at a Party" (or anywhere, on this planet, judging from her superb performance) and show writer and comedienne Leslie Jones, who famously stirred controversy with slavery jokes last season (a take on a comedy bit she has performed on stage elsewhere), returned as well, talking about the perils of dating. Kenan Thompson, who was recently rumored to be planning to leave the show (NBC has since addressed the reports, sang a song for the president, titled "Cheer Up, Obama."
Also, SNL newcomer Pete Davidson, 20, the youngest cast member (who wasn't even born when He-Man and Thundercats aired), made his debut, speaking at the Weekend Update desk about what he considered to be a shameless way to earn $1 million.
Grande's performances
Sporting her signature high ponytail and cat ears headband, the singer sang her recent hit "Break Free" and "Love Me Harder," a duet with The Weeknd.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family)