"Saturday Night Live" Sank To A New Low (Again) With Some Awful Promos For This Weekend's Show

"Saturday Night Live" has been bad for a long time, but this season has been an eye-opener for people. Like, it's been really bad. Offensively bad. It's bad to the point where it almost seems intentional. The fact that SNL has been able to sustain itself for a long time is a testament to Lorne Michaels, but "Saturday Night Live" right now feels like one of those great sitcoms that decide to bring in the quirky cousin character late in its run to try to appeal to a new audience. I think SNL right now has the rare distinction of being the show that appeals to nobody. I don't know what its target audience is anymore. I feel like it used to be college-aged kids. But if you're looking for sketch comedy, there are 1 million better things on the Internet that that demographic can look for. 

Dakota Johnson is hosting "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, with Justin Timberlake being the musical guest. They've put out some promos for the upcoming episode, and once again, they found a way to go viral simply by being unfunny. In fairness, these promos are often bad. It's hard to promote a show while delivering something funny in that short of a time. Being forgettable is one thing. Being head-scratchingly unfunny is another. Some of me believe these promos may be so bad on purpose that they use them to get people to talk about the show, but I don't think "Saturday Night Live" is that clever anymore. 

I won't act like I'm an expert on Dakota Johnson's filmography, but I always thought she was a serviceable actress. Maybe she needs to hire a new agent or something because everything I've been seeing her promoting lately looks fucking terrible. I don't think that "Madame Web" is a real movie. I think it might be some sort of Nathan Fielder bit to see how many people can come to the theater to see the worst comic book movie of all time. But her delivery is bad with everything. It's so monotone and dull. Even when "Saturday Night Live" isn't well written, sometimes you have a host like Adam Driver or Emma Stone who brings a lot of enthusiasm and energy, but she seems bored in the promos. I can't imagine what she'll do during a live show.

You know, what's a great idea? Taking Justin Timberlake, who is one of the best "Saturday Night Live" hosts of the 21st century, putting him in an episode and not making him the host. I'm sure he'll be in a sketch or two, but if there was ever a time in which SNL needed to break emergency glass and make Justin Timberlake the host of an episode, even if he didn't have anything to promote, it would probably be now. At least you can rely on nostalgia to carry you in some of those instances. You have built-in material. 

Sarah Sherman is the cast member featured in these promos. She's trying I guess. I don't know why this shit bothers me so much. I used to like "Saturday Night Live," and I don't think anyone on the cast isn't putting their best foot forward, but unfunny comedy offends me. It's hard to be funny. If it was easy, I would do it. But I'm blown away by how bad this show is. You can take any 30-second snippet from a Saturday Night Live episode, and it would require a magnifying glass to be put up towards the screen as you desperately search for where the joke is. It's there somewhere; you just really need to look to find it. 

I haven't checked in with other people about this. It doesn't seem like others are as frustrated with the show as I am, which means that SNL will probably live on for a long time. I saw Lorne Michaels say he'd be OK with Tina Fey taking over for him. It'd be a great idea. The show has been happening for almost 50 years with him at the helm. It's hard to maintain that passion. These promos are proof of that.