Awkwafina is hosting 'Saturday Night Live'

'Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Ocean's 8' star will be the first Asian American woman to host in 18 years.



Rapper/actress Awakwafina, recently seen stealing scene after scene as Peik Lin Goh in the box office smash Crazy Rich Asians, will host the upcoming October 6 episode of Saturday Night Live.

By our rough count, that makes Awkwafina -- aka Queens-bred Nora Lum -- one of only a handful of Asian American hosts in the perennial NBC sketch show's 43-plus-season, 851-episode history. In fact, it's been eighteen years since an Asian American woman hosted SNL: Lucy Liu appeared on December 16, 2000.

Saturday Night Live officially announced the lineup Thursday on Twitter, sharing a photo of Post-It notes listing the first three hosts and musical acts of the upcoming 44th season.

Bowen Yang joins writing staff of 'Saturday Night Live'

Self-described former "mediocre chemistry major" and lip sync master.



NBC's Saturday Night Live has added Bowen Yang to the writing staff of the perennial late night sketch show, along with writers Alan Linic, Alison Gates and Eli Mandel, as well as new featured player Ego Nwodim.

Ego Nwodim Joins ‘Saturday Night Live'

Yang, a New York-based comedian, writer and producer who trained at Upright Citizens Brigade, is a self-described former "mediocre chemistry major" who was named one of Comedy Central's "Comics to Watch." His TV credits include Broad City and The Outs, and he is co-host of the pop culture podcast Las Culturistas.

But let's be real: we all know Bowen Yang's most valuable contribution to mankind thus far has been the ongoing series of Twitter videos flexing his unbelievalbe lip sync mastery. Bow down.

"Here's my problem with most racism: it's the inaccuracy."

Watch Kumail Nanjiani's opening monologue from 'Saturday Night Live.'



Hey, racists! Kumail Nanjiani would take you a little more seriously if you could just get it right.

Over the weekend, the Pakistani American comedian, fresh off the summer success of his indie romantic comedy The Big Sick, performed hosting duties on Saturday Night Live. During the opening monologue, he delivered a hilarious, timely standup set, taking on racism and... more racism.

Among other things, he pointed out the very real fact that Sikhs are often targeted with Islamophobic violence, mistaken for Muslims. This is a challenging thing to joke about, but Kumail just slays it. He also clarifies what bothers him most about racism: the inaccuracy. Racists, you're just not coming at this with correct information -- and it's not working out for you.

"I'm like, do the research," Kumail says. "Put in the work. You will see the benefits!"

Check it out:

Aziz Ansari is the SNL host we really needed this week

Comedian's razor-sharp opening monologue throws down a challenge to Donald Trump.



Over the weekend, comedian Aziz Ansari made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, becoming the show's first South Asian American host and only the fourth host of Asian descent in the sketch comedy institution's 42-year seasons. A historic moment of television, for sure, but also a moment perhaps made even more significant with Ansari serving as the first host following the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Because, as he has made quite apparent, Trump has an unreasonably obsessive, contentious relationship with Saturday Night Live. Because you could be absolutely certain that Trump, despite claiming to hate the show, was probably tuning in. And because you know Aziz was gonna bring it. And hell yeah, he did.

While most of the show was fairly standard fare, Ansari devoted his opening monologue to some razor-sharp standup directed at the new president -- "Pretty cool to know he's probably at home right now watching a brown guy make fun of him" -- and his supporters who have become "way too fired up about the Trump thing for the wrong reasons." You know, the racists who aren't pretending anymore and the "lower case kkk."

Best of all, Aziz throws down an important challenge at Trump, and offers a word of encouragement to those of us who are worried about this new regime: "If you look at our country's history, change doesn't come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen." Amen, Aziz.

Watch:

Aziz Ansari to host Saturday Night Live

'Master of None' star will make his SNL hosting debut on January 21.



Comedian Aziz Ansari is set to make his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live later this month.

It was announced Tuesday that the creator and star of Master of None will take up hosting duties on the January 21 episode of NBC's hallowed sketch comedy institution, joined by musical guest Big Sean.

Well, it's about time.

There have been only three hosts of Asian descent -- Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu, both back in 2000, and Bruno Mars in 2012 -- in Saturday Night Live's 42-year history. Ansari will be the fourth, and the first ever host of South Asian descent.

George Takei to host 'Saturday Night Live'?

No. It was a cruel, cruel April Fool's joke.



On Tuesday, as your various social media timelines filled up with your friends' April Fool's declarations of engagements, pregnancies, and other outlandish tales, this one popped up and I really wanted to believe...

'Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!'

On the Huffington Post Comedy blog, posted prompltly on April 1 at 12:10 am, Star Trek icon, activist and social media star George Takei announced that had been invited to host Saturday Night Live later this season. Oh myyyy. We all know that he would be an awesome personality to have on the show. But...

Was that yellowface on Saturday Night Live?

Everybody was kung faux fighting



If you tuned in to Saturday Night Live this weekend, you may have seen some of that good old-fashioned Asiansploitation in the form of an ill-conceived martial arts gag during the opening monologue.

To accentuate the joke, which involved host Melissa McCarthy kung faux fighting Bobby Moynihan while suspended on wires, they trotted out Taran Killam as a eastern-like fight narrator. It wasn't full-blown yellowface, but it was definitely veering as close as possible, gongs, wind flutes and all.

You can watch the "Battle of Lotus" here if you really have to: