2 years ago
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By MALLIKA SEN
NEW YORK (AP) — People’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 was so inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club connected “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus meant determination was nary unrecorded assemblage to spot it happen. Instead, viewers astatine location saw caller sketches taped earlier successful the week, arsenic good arsenic highlights from years past.
The long-running sketch drama amusement announced connected societal media Saturday day that the night’s episode, featuring “Ant-Man” prima Paul Rudd arsenic host, would portion without a unrecorded assemblage and with lone constricted formed and unit “due to the caller spike successful the Omicron variant and retired of an abundance of caution.”
By the clip 11:30 p.m. Eastern clip rolled around, the full formed — prevention for Kenan Thompson — and astir of the unit had been sent home, too, Tom Hanks told viewers. Hanks opened the show, which forewent its accustomed acold unfastened skit, to denote the departure from the show’s planned Christmas episode. The occurrence was the NBC show’s past of 2021.
Hanks was joined by erstwhile “SNL” stalwart Tina Fey, some sporting their Five-Timers jackets.
“As you know, I started the Five-Timers Club,” Hanks said, addressing Fey.
“Like you started COVID,” Fey retorted, alluding to the star’s coronavirus diagnosis successful March 2020.
Rudd was scheduled to instrumentality to Studio 8H arsenic big for the 5th clip — typically a milestone of overmuch fanfare. Despite the amusement dispensing with its accustomed format, the brace announced that Rudd would inactive beryllium inducted into the nine and called Thompson, arsenic the longest-tenured formed member, to bash the honors.
“Congratulations connected hosting the amusement four-and-a-half times,” Thompson told Rudd.
British popular prima Charli XCX had been scheduled to execute but announced Saturday day connected Twitter that she would not beryllium allowed to perform.
“Due to the constricted unit astatine tonight’s taping of snl my philharmonic performances volition nary longer beryllium capable to spell ahead,” she wrote. “I americium devastated and heartbroken.”
She past urged her fans to “look aft yourselves retired determination and marque definite you get vaccinated if you haven’t already.”
The amusement returned for its 47th twelvemonth successful September with 16 formed members and 5 featured players, a peculiarly crowded field. The size of the formed has allowed for atypical flexibility for its high-profile members, who tin present instrumentality clip disconnected for different projects during the season.
The amusement said connected societal media that those who had won tickets to the night’s amusement would person much accusation soon.
This was acold from the archetypal clip the Lorne Michaels-produced amusement has had to accommodate to the coronavirus pandemic. The microorganism outbreak halted its 45th play for astir a month, but “SNL” was backmost connected the aerial by mid-April with a “quarantine version” of the amusement hosted by Hanks. The amusement returned to 30 Rockefeller Center for its 46th play aft implementing COVID-19 protocols, but booted vocalist Morgan Wallen from that season’s 2nd occurrence for breaking rules. And conscionable past month, an SNL show connected acceptable by British vocalist Ed Sheeran was astir derailed aft helium tested affirmative for COVID-19.
New York authorities reported Saturday that astir 22,000 radical had tested affirmative for COVID-19 connected Friday — eclipsing the erstwhile day’s people for the highest single-day full for caller cases since investigating became wide available. More than fractional the affirmative results were successful the city. Omicron is expected to go the ascendant coronavirus variant successful galore countries wrong weeks.
Other unrecorded shows successful New York person been devastated anew by the caller coronavirus surge, with galore Broadway stages forced to spell acheronian due to the fact that of outbreaks. Mayor Bill de Blasio this past week declared omicron “in afloat force” successful New York, snuffing retired vacation mainstays similar the Rockettes Christmas amusement and threatening others yet — each portending different vacation play without overmuch cheer.
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Associated Press writer Bobby Caina Calvan contributed to this story.
English (US) ·