Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Videos: David Harbour Goes Grouchy For 'Joker' Spoof And More On SNL
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 14, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
NBC
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 14, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Stranger Things leading man David Harbour made his Saturday Night Live debut. He made a valiant effort, but let's face it: Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a tough act to follow. But how can you entirely hate an episode that also features Billy Porter and Lin-Manuel Miranda? Also,those arms.
The highlight of the show was the spoof of Joker, Grouch, a gritty origin story of Oscar the Grouch that shows how Oscar, played by Harbour, was first a sanitation man driven mad on Sesame Street.
Other Sesame Street regulars reimagined included Snuffleupagus (Kenan Thompson as a pimp), Prairie Dawn (Chloe Fineman as a prostitute), broadcaster Guy Smiley (Bowen Yang), Bert (Alex Moffat), Ernie (Mikey Day), a Mexican Elmo (Melissa Villaseñor), a peep-show Big Bird (Heidi Gardner), and a pill-addicted Count (Beck Bennett). Ego Nwodim played a social worker named Susan (!) while Chris Redd, who is actually in Joker, is a fellow sanitation worker "Grover M." They even filmed on the same steps in the Bronx (between Anderson and Shakespeare Avenues on West 167th Street)!
Turns out that SNL writer Streeter Seidell wrote the sketch with Day... based on an idea from Harbour and Harbour's girlfriend, singer-songwriter Lily Allen. (Also Seidell was Cookie Monster.)
The Cold Open was political once again, this time with a CNN Equality Town Hall. Moffat reprised his Anderson Cooper, as candidates Senator Cory Booker (Redd), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (Colin Jost), Senator Elizabeth Warren (Kate McKinnon), Julian Castro (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and Vice President Joe Biden (Woody Harrelson). It was a pretty tame cold open—Miranda's Castro almost broke into "Alexander Hamilton"—but having Billy Porter emcee the town hall was a stroke of genius (his intro for Biden: "The Delaware Daddy whose only vice is the choo-choo train!"). Please have Porter host an entire episode of SNL:
The Monologue gave Harbour an opportunity to visit the Upside Down, a bizarro world where he finds Pete Davidson (making his first appearance of the season) and Lorne Michaels, as an NBC page.
The SoulCycle sketch didn't bring up billionaire investor Stephen Ross's ties to Donald Trump. Instead. it featured a look into the world of spinning instructors who have to be entertaining, deep, and aspirational.
The commercial parody was the excellent Father-Son Podcasting Microphone. Finally, dads can have a dialogue with their sons... and also promote Squarespace:
Weekend Update was pretty heavy on President Trump, with Jost and Michael Che feasting on the arrests of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the associates of Rudy Giuliani who were arrested last week. Davdison made an appearance to talk about STDs (and Joker) and Gardner's teen YouTube critic, Bailey Gismert, also mentioned Joker.
The Little Miss Teacher's Friend pageant featured a number of girls vying to be a teacher's pet. Of course, the teacher (Nwodim) doesn't really this idea, in spite of the students offering up their biggest tattles. Very reminiscent of the Nephews pageant from the Kit Harrington episode
Who knew folk trios were so dark? Peter, Paula, and Murray share their secrets in a benign song:
If you were hoping to see Harbour and McKinnon in drag and playing horny, Italian-American grandparents, then Sauce is for you. It's also the physical comedy sketch of the night.
Cecily Strong put on her Judge Judy robes to play Judge Connie Schaumberg (she asks, with an image of a dog wearing a MAGA hat, "Is a dog pushing its political beliefs onto your dog?") of the "110th-and-Amsterdam Dog Court." A perfect sketch, if only because it features dogs acting like dogs and not like actors who understand cues:
And if you loved Dog Court, here's the dress rehearsal, via Strong's Instagram, where she explains she was sick all week and that this sketch was a highlight:
A commercial for Giuliani and Associates was cut for time:
Musical guest Camila Ceballo dressed as Marie Antoinette to sing "Cry for Me" and went contemporary for "Easy."
SNL goes on break until October 26, when Chance the Rapper (and Blog Owner) returns as host and musical guest. We hope Lazlo Holmes has to report on hockey again!
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 23, 2026
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
By
Hannah Frishberg
A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history
By
Sonia Rao
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .