The big event a gazillion people worldwide will be watching this weekend is obviously the Super Bowl. But for those of us who couldn’t care less (and/or maybe only watch for the commercials and halftime show), the big event this weekend is Saturday Night Live hosted by none other than Melissa McCarthy!

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This will be the comedic actress’ third time hosting the sketch comedy show (which means it’s a hat trick, though fortunately hats aren’t thrown at her like they were with Jonah Hill in last week’s promos). She received rave reviews for her previous hosting gigs, so it’s expected this time around will be no different. The musical guest will be Imagine Dragons.

NBC has released a series of promos featuring Melissa and cast member Kenan Thompson. Speaking of the big game, Kenan informs Melissa that they can’t say Super Bowl on TV because it’s not airing on NBC, so the two come up with network-approved alternative names, including Super Sports Match Show and Televised Man Battle with Ball — I have to say, I kind of like the latter name.

But don’t get Melissa mad, as Kenan does when he tell her the third time’s the charm, insinuating her first two times as host weren’t all that good (obviously not true). What’s his punishment? She punches him in the face and keeps hitting him until he says she’s great.

There’s more hilarity where that came from, so take a look at the promos below to also see Melissa and Kenan sing a song called “Imagine Dragons,” which seems like they were riffing on the spot (I want to see the outtakes for that one), to see the actress try to light the Olympic torch — but don’t tell her it’s actually a rolled-up newspaper — and more.

Are you excited that Melissa McCarthy is returning to host SNL? Are there any characters that you want her to reprise? And how many Super Bowl-related sketched do you think there will be?

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:35pm on NBC.

(Image courtesy of NBC)

Jeff Dodge

Staff Writer, BuddyTV

Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.