Josh O’Connor definitely understood the assignment when he was invited as the guest host for Saturday Night Live.
There are Saturday Night Live episodes that coast politely by, and then there are episodes that understand the cultural moment, clock the audience, and lean all the way in. When Josh O’Connor dropped by Saturday Night Live as the latest host, he chose the latter path. This was not a night of safe jokes or buttoned-up charm. This was a night of kisses, chaos, and commitment to the bit.
O’Connor is currently out promoting his upcoming Netflix film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, but if the goal was to remind everyone why he’s such a compelling screen presence, mission very much accomplished. With Lily Allen as musical guest and a sketch lineup that escalated quickly, O’Connor made his hosting debut feel less like a gig and more like a gift.
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The Monologue: A Greatest Hits Tour
O’Connor kicked things off with a monologue that felt breezy, self-aware, and perfectly calibrated for the internet. He nodded to his time on The Crown, gave a wink to Challengers (a personal favorite for many of us, thank you very much), and plugged Wake Up Dead Man without sounding like a walking press release.
It set the tone for the night. This was Josh O’Connor saying, “Yes, I know what you know me from, and yes, I’m happy to play with it.” And play he did.
Tin Man Wants a Little Something Extra
One of the early sketches saw O’Connor as the Tin Man in a revamped Wizard of Oz bit where the male characters reconsider their wishes. Instead of hearts or courage, they realize they actually want a “big old thang.” It was absurd, campy, and delightfully unhinged, with O’Connor committing to the physical comedy like his life depended on it.
never before seen footage from the original wizard of oz pic.twitter.com/dUCiLnmooH
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Elsewhere, he popped up as a fellow student in a sketch about a wildly overachieving and very young college prodigy played by Bowen Yang, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a Christmas characters parody of Variety’s “Actors on Actors,” and an awkward brunch guest who felt painfully real in the way only SNL can manage.
Sensitive Strippers, Soft Cardigans, and One Very Gay Ending
Let’s be honest. We all know why you’re here. The Bachelorette Party Strippers sketch is already etched into gay SNLhistory. O’Connor appeared alongside Ben Marshall as the world’s most sensitive male strippers. Fully clothed. Beanies on. Fuzzy cashmere cardigans. Each clutching a copy of A Little Life like an emotional support accessory.
Photo Credit: ‘Bachelorette Party Strippers’ | Saturday Night Live (Youtube)
Introducing himself with the line, “You are enough,” O’Connor immediately sent the sketch into camp overdrive. What followed was a will-they-won’t-they energy spiral that included a deeply questionable lap dance, fists thrown at the groom, and, finally, a makeout session that sealed the deal. It was bizarre. It was tender. It was exactly the kind of nonsense that makes SNL sing.
josh o’connor kissing men on snl? i said oh i’m sure pic.twitter.com/zNKFLJWtlZ
— marky (@zweigdonaldson) December 14, 2025
Doctor, Please… Kiss Me?
O’Connor wasn’t done. In the Teaching Hospital sketch, he found himself kissing Bowen Yang’s unhinged “Doctor Please” character. Yang reprised the role with his usual chaotic brilliance, while O’Connor played Shirley, a medical student who absolutely should not be in charge of delivering bloodwork results.
Photo Credit: ‘Teaching Hospital’ | Saturday Night Live (Youtube)
Instead of doing their jobs, the two repeatedly derail the appointment by kissing, oversharing, and spiraling until the sketch takes a sharp turn and reveals they’re related. It’s gross, it’s awkward, and it’s classic SNL escalation. Also, props where props are due: Bowen Yang has now made out with Ariana Grande and Josh O’Connor on live television. That’s a cinematic universe we would absolutely stream.
Josh O’Connor and Bowen Yang making out on SNL…I hate seeing others live out my dreams pic.twitter.com/rqvZquB9R5
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) December 14, 2025
Why O’Connor’s Episode Worked So Well
What made Josh O’Connor’s SNL episode hit wasn’t just the kisses, though those certainly didn’t hurt. It was his willingness to fully inhabit the weirdness. He didn’t play above the jokes or undercut them with irony. He trusted the material, trusted his scene partners, and let himself look silly, soft, and unguarded.
For queer viewers especially, there was something refreshing about seeing a leading man lean into intimacy with other men without flinching or playing it for cheap shock. The humor came from character and situation, not from treating queerness as the punchline.
Josh O’Connor makes his SNL hosting debut.
pic.twitter.com/OXZooNuydF— cinesthetic. (@TheCinesthetic) December 14, 2025
Final Verdict: Kiss the Host Goodnight
Josh O’Connor’s Saturday Night Live episode was cheeky, chaotic, and genuinely fun. It balanced prestige-actor credibility with full-throttle sketch comedy nonsense, and it gave the gays exactly what they wanted: commitment, chemistry, and kisses that will live on in GIF form for years to come.
If this was O’Connor’s way of saying hello to the SNL stage, we’d happily take an encore. Preferably with more cardigans.