For nearly 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been performing sketches to make us laugh from the comfort of our living room. With a 5 decade history and numerous celebrity hosts, the show has had countless legendary moments. Today, we’re taking a look at the last 10 years of material, which gave us some truly hilarious sketches. These are the SNL sketches that are guaranteed to make you laugh.
1. “Papyrus” (2017)
Ryan Gosling’s “Papyrus” sketch is one of the funniest examples of SNL taking a very odd annoyance and heightening it to complete ridiculousness. Gosling plays a man who is obsessed with the fact that the Avatar movie used the Papyrus font for its logo. What starts as a barely noticeable design issue evolves into a major problem, told in an intense psychological thriller style. Gosling’s undying commitment to something unbelievably petty is what makes the sketch work.
2. “The Actress” (2018)
This sketch features Emma Stone as a dramatic actress who has been cast as “The Woman Who Gets Cheated On” in a gay adult film. The joke is that she approaches this tiny throwaway role like she’s Meryl Streep preparing for the role of a lifetime. Stone is super intense and incredibly sincere, and it leads to one very funny sketch. She is essentially making fun of actors who take themselves way too seriously.
3. “Close Encounter” (2015)
One of Kate McKinnon’s funniest recurring sketches is “Close Encounter.” In these pee-your-pants funny sketches McKinnon plays an alien abduction survivor named Colleen Rafferty. Government agents interview three separate abductees, and Rafferty is always last. While everyone else describes the experience as a magical encounter with an enlightened extraterrestrial species, Colleen has a very different story. Her abductions always involve embarrassment, confusion, and odd interactions. In her characteristic colorful language, she includes plenty of ridiculous and unnecessary details. McKinnon’s completely casual delivery makes every line funnier than the last. It’s definitely one of the top SNL alien sketches.
4. “Career Day” (2018)
Adam Driver plays Abraham H. Parnassus, an incredibly intense oil baron who goes to his son’s high school for Career Day. While the other parents talk about their normal careers, explaining what they do for a living, Parnassus approaches the assignment a bit differently. He treats his presentation like a dramatic monologue, ranting about oil, his need for power, and his desire to destroy his enemies. Driver screams, growls, and delivers every ridiculous line as though he’s performing on stage. The embarrassment his son endures makes things even funnier. Driver completely commits to the insanity of this sketch, which is exactly what makes it work.
6. “Beavis and Butt-Head” (2024)
This is another Gosling sketch that makes our list. When he returned to host SNL in 2024, he had the pleasure of playing a Beavis look-alike during a Beavis and Butt-Head sketch. Mikey Day plays the Butt-Head lookalike, while Heidi Gardner plays the moderator. It went viral pretty fast. Gosling completely transformed himself for the bit, and the rest of the cast simply struggles not to break. This is one of those sketches where the cast members genuinely seem to be having a blast. Everyone involved is barely holding it together. Heidi Gardner completely lost it when she turned around and saw Mikey Day, which became a huge part of why the sketch went viral.
7. “David S. Pumpkins” (2016)
In this very strange sketch, Tom Hanks plays David S. Pumpkins, a mysterious man who appears in a Halloween attraction accompanied by two dancing skeletons. The character’s absurdity and complete lack of explanation is what makes the sketch work. Instead of providing a backstory or answering any questions whatsoever, the sketch just doubles down on the weirdness until it gets so bizarre that you have to laugh.
8. “The Actress Round Table” (2017)
Kate McKinnon created plenty of notable characters during her time on SNL, but Debette Goldry was truly something special. In the “Actress Round Table” sketches, McKinnon plays an elderly Hollywood legend who discusses the entertainment industry with younger, modern actresses. While the younger women thoughtfully talk about the challenges facing women in Hollywood, Debette casually recounts horrifying stories about what actresses went through back in her day. She tells the insane stories as though they’re no big deal, which makes them even funnier. McKinnon’s old-school Hollywood voice, combined with her impeccable delivery, turns this sketch into a favorite.