The season premiere of Saturday Night Live last week saw the so-called greatest Olympian of all time Michael Phelps hosting and, if reviews are to be believed, bombing.  Who can blame him, though?  Tina Fey's return to Saturday Night Live was nothing short of explosive with critics noting her spot-on resemblance of Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  Add Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton and any mediocre hosting job will surely go unnoticed.

While Fey's return to succeeding episodes of SNL is yet to be confirmed, tonight's Saturday Night Live will feature Pineapple Express star James Franco, alongside musical guest Kings of Leon.  After playing James Dean in the critically acclaimed TNT biopic, Franco most recently appeared in the stoner comedy Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen.  His upcoming works include the romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe that will bring Richard Gere and Diane Lane back together and the highly anticipated Milk with Sean Penn.

Making their SNL debut, meanwhile, is rock band Kings of Leon, composed of three Tennessee-born brothers and their cousin.  Associated Press recently dubbed them "the last great genetically pure-bred American rock n' roll band."

The week after that, it's actress Anna Faris' turn to host the long-running sketch show.  Faris, whose most recent work is the comedy The House Bunny, is best known for a string of hits, such as the Scary Movie franchise, Lost in Translation, and Brokeback Mountain.

Joining Faris, meanwhile, is pop-soul sensation Duffy.  Performing something from her top-selling debut album “Rockferry,” Duffy has been called "the female Otis Redding" by the Los Angeles Times.

In addition to their Saturday schedule, SNL is also slated to begin airing "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” on October 9 at 9:30pm.  The live half-hour presentations will be led by the show's signature segment "Weekend Update."


-Glenn L. Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: NBC
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