When Jenna Ortega made her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live during Season 48, the 20-year-old phenom had already conquered the pop-culture universe with Netflix’s Wednesday and the box-office triumph of Scream VI.
While audiences had grown accustomed to her icy, deadpan gothic stare and terrifying horror screams, Studio 8H revealed an entirely new facet of her artistry: a fearless sketch performer with effortless comedic instincts, impeccable timing, and a deep appreciation for the surreal.
Leaning into chaotic physical brawls at late-night diners, surreal road-trip musical digital shorts, and a legendary reunion with Wednesday co-star Fred Armisen, Ortega anchored one of the most streamed and virally shared episodes of the entire season.
Whether you are exploring our breakdowns of the 10 best Jenna Ortega movies & TV shows, Sabrina Carpenter’s hilarious comedy moments, Sydney Sweeney’s viral SNL sketches, or the top 10 Margot Robbie SNL sketches, here are the 10 best Jenna Ortega SNL sketches of all time, ranked by laugh count, viral impact, and comedic commitment—complete with official video streams.
The 10 Best Jenna Ortega SNL Sketches at a Glance
★ 1. Please Don't Destroy: Road Trip (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring The PDD Trio
★ 2. Waffle House / Late-Night Brawl (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Marcello Hernandez
★ 3. The Parent Trap Remake (Season 48, 2023) — Special Guest Star Fred Armisen
★ 4. Exorcism / Possessed Roommate (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Ego Nwodim
★ 5. 2023 Opening Monologue (Season 48, 2023) — Featuring Fred Armisen Cameo
★ 6. School Play / Dramatic Audition (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Andrew Dismukes
★ 7. Jumble / Game Show Chaos (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Kenan Thompson
★ 8. Ridiculous Romance / Camp Teen Drama (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Mikey Day
★ 9. The Art Museum Field Trip (Season 48, 2023) — Co-starring Bowen Yang
★ 10. Weekend Update: Gen Z Culture Debrief (Season 48, 2023) — With Colin Jost
1. Please Don’t Destroy: Road Trip (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Ben Marshall, John Higgins, Martin Herlihy
- The Premise: The Please Don’t Destroy writers invite host Jenna Ortega on a supposedly relaxing highway road trip to clear their heads, only for every single passenger to unveil unhinged, bizarrely dangerous personal habits in the car.
- Why It Works: Breathless velocity, insane non-sequiturs, and Ortega matching the PDD trio’s chaotic physical absurdity beat-for-beat.
The Please Don’t Destroy digital short engine was at peak power during Season 48, and Ortega proved to be one of their all-time greatest guest collaborators. Starting with innocent car karaoke, the trip rapidly descends into madness as Ortega reveals she has been drinking straight lighter fluid, sets things on fire, and screams out the window while careening toward a cliff. Ortega’s deadpan transformation from a bored passenger into an unhinged highway maniac accumulated millions of views across YouTube and TikTok within hours.
▶ Watch "Road Trip" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
2. Waffle House / Late-Night Brawl (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Marcello Hernandez, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman
- The Premise: Two high school sweethearts (Marcello Hernandez and Jenna Ortega) have a delicate, tearful relationship breakup at 3:00 AM inside an infamous 24-hour Waffle House, completely unfazed as violent WWE-style chair brawls erupt around them.
- Why It Works: The brilliant contrast between hushed, intimate teenage melodrama and chaotic restaurant staff dodging flying chairs and plates.
Tapping into the universal internet lore surrounding late-night Waffle House chaos, Ortega and Marcello Hernandez delivered deadpan comedic perfection. As Kenan Thompson and the waitstaff wield frying pans and body-slam rowdy customers through booths in the background, Ortega never breaks eye contact, passionately whispering: “I just think we’re going to different colleges, Dylan!” Her absolute refusal to acknowledge the flying furniture made this one of the funniest live sketches of the year.
▶ Watch "Waffle House" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
3. The Parent Trap Remake (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Fred Armisen, Chloe Fineman, Kenan Thompson
- The Premise: A film director attempts to shoot a modern remake of The Parent Trap, but the studio refuses to pay for digital twin effects, forcing Jenna Ortega to share scenes with a creepy, middle-aged stand-in (Fred Armisen) wearing an identical dress.
- Why It Works: Legendary Wednesday co-stars Ortega and Armisen (Uncle Fester) sharing electric comedic timing.
Fred Armisen made a triumphant return to Studio 8H to play Ortega’s “twin” sister Hallie. Squeezed into an identical plaid summer dress and headband, Armisen’s hairy legs and raspy delivery (“Hello sister, let’s get our parents back together!”) sent the studio audience into fits of laughter. Ortega played the exasperated straight woman to perfection, trying valiantly not to crack a smile during Armisen’s bizarre close-ups.
▶ Watch "The Parent Trap" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
4. Exorcism / Possessed Roommate (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day
- The Premise: Catholic priests arrive at a college dorm to perform a terrifying demon exorcism on a possessed student (Ortega), only for her exasperated roommate (Ego Nwodim) to complain that demonic levitation is violating their chore wheel.
- Why It Works: Ortega contorting her body, speaking in guttural demonic tongues, and spitting green bile while Nwodim critiques her passive-aggressive dishwashing habits.
Playing against her real-life Scream Queen credentials, Ortega threw herself into the physical horror with total abandon. Clad in a nightgown, levitating above her mattress, and twisting her neck at impossible angles, she brought authentic cinematic terror to the screen—making Ego Nwodim’s petty roommate grievances (“I don’t care if you’re the Prince of Darkness, you still owe \$40 for the Wi-Fi!”) land with double the comedic punch.
▶ Watch "Exorcism" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
5. 2023 Opening Monologue
- Co-stars: Fred Armisen
- The Premise: Ortega reflects on her career transition from sweet Disney kid to horror starlet, while swearing she will not perform the viral Wednesday dance under any circumstances.
- Why It Works: Fred Armisen casually wandering on stage in a dark trench coat, forcing her to address the viral elephant in the room.
Stepping onto the Studio 8H stage with composed, charming warmth, Ortega poked fun at her dark on-screen persona: “I think there’s just something about my face that makes people want to throw fake blood on me.” The monologue reached its peak when Fred Armisen popped up from backstage, playfully encouraging her to do the viral Addams dance until she shut him down with classic deadpan precision.
▶ Watch "Jenna Ortega Monologue" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
6. School Play / Dramatic Audition (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang
- The Premise: A high school theater director conducts auditions for an avant-garde student production, but Ortega’s painfully sincere method-acting choices overwhelm the modest auditorium.
- Why It Works: Taking pretentious high school theater tropes and escalating them to operatic absurdity.
Ortega and Andrew Dismukes showed magnificent stage chemistry in this theater-kid satire. Playing an overly intense student actor who treats a one-line community theater audition like a Shakespearean Greek tragedy, Ortega’s hyper-serious physical gestures and dramatic pauses skewered teenage artistic pretension with pinpoint accuracy.
7. Jumble / Game Show Chaos (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner
- The Premise: Contestants on a classic word-puzzle game show struggle to solve simple unscramble puzzles because every scrambled phrase looks like an extremely graphic adult phrase.
- Why It Works: Kenan Thompson’s wide-eyed panic trying to keep the broadcast FCC-compliant while Ortega innocently guesses the dirtiest possible interpretations.
Ortega played an innocent Midwestern contestant whose completely wholesome guesses repeatedly sounded like shocking double entendres. Her wide-eyed innocence contrasting with Kenan Thompson’s escalating sweat and panic carried the sketch to uproarious heights.
8. Ridiculous Romance / Camp Teen Drama (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson
- The Premise: A spoof of modern teen dramas like Euphoria and Riverdale, where high schoolers speak in hyper-literary, 19th-century philosophical prose while hanging out at a suburban locker bank.
- Why It Works: Spot-on parody of modern prestige television’s tendency to give teenagers the dialogue of depressed Victorian poets.
Channeling the heightened melodrama of modern streaming teen dramas, Ortega navigated bizarre philosophical monologues while casually adjusting her backpack. Her dry, solemn delivery made the ridiculous dialogue sound strangely poetic, proving her natural ear for linguistic satire.
9. The Art Museum Field Trip (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman
- The Premise: A high school art class visits a modern museum where a bizarre interactive sculpture (Bowen Yang) begins giving students unsolicited, highly specific dating roasts.
- Why It Works: Bowen Yang’s flamboyant performance-art energy bouncing off Ortega’s stoic, unimpressed student facade.
Bowen Yang’s high-camp absurdity found its ideal foil in Ortega’s trademark unbothered posture. As Yang’s living statue contorted and hurled avant-garde insults, Ortega’s withering, silent side-eye glances delivered some of the biggest laughs of the sketch.
10. Weekend Update: Gen Z Culture Debrief (Season 48, 2023)
- Co-stars: Colin Jost, Michael Che
- The Premise: Ortega visits the Weekend Update desk to discuss modern horror tropes, the resurgence of gothic fashion, and how social media algorithms interpret dark aesthetics.
- Why It Works: Relaxed, witty banter with Colin Jost that highlighted her natural, unscripted intelligence.
Sitting alongside Colin Jost, Ortega demonstrated sharp improvisational banter. Poking fun at viral TikTok trends, the pressure of internet fan expectations, and her transition into major franchise cinema, she brought a memorable, charming close to a triumphant hosting debut.
Jenna Ortega SNL Sketches Comparison Table
| Rank | Sketch Title | Season | Key Co-Stars | Highlight Moment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PDD: Road Trip | S48 (2023) | Please Don’t Destroy | Chugging lighter fluid and screaming out the car window |
| 2 | Waffle House | S48 (2023) | Marcello Hernandez | Breaking up during a full-scale flying-chair diner brawl |
| 3 | The Parent Trap | S48 (2023) | Fred Armisen | Armisen playing her identical hairy-legged twin sister |
| 4 | Exorcism | S48 (2023) | Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson | Demon levitation vs. roommate chore wheel dispute |
| 5 | 2023 Monologue | S48 (2023) | Fred Armisen (Cameo) | Refusing to do the viral Wednesday dance on live TV |
| 6 | School Play | S48 (2023) | Andrew Dismukes | Overly intense Greek tragedy theater audition |
| 7 | Jumble Game Show | S48 (2023) | Kenan Thompson | Innocently guessing dirty phrases on word puzzle |
| 8 | Ridiculous Romance | S48 (2023) | Mikey Day | Hyper-literary Victorian teen angst by high school lockers |
| 9 | Museum Field Trip | S48 (2023) | Bowen Yang | Withering silent stare at an interactive living sculpture |
| 10 | Weekend Update | S48 (2023) | Colin Jost | Sharp, witty commentary on modern gothic aesthetics |
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Jenna Ortega host Saturday Night Live?
Jenna Ortega hosted Saturday Night Live on March 11, 2023 (Season 48, Episode 15), with rock band The 1975 appearing as the musical guest.
Did Fred Armisen cameo in Jenna Ortega’s SNL episode?
Yes! Former SNL cast member Fred Armisen, who played Uncle Fester alongside Ortega in Wednesday, made surprise guest appearances during both Ortega’s opening monologue and The Parent Trap remake sketch.
Did Jenna Ortega do the Wednesday dance on SNL?
While Ortega playfully swore during her monologue that she would not perform the dance, she famously joined the Please Don’t Destroy writers in a viral promotional teaser where the trio pressured her into the routine.
What was the most viewed Jenna Ortega SNL sketch?
The Waffle House sketch and the Please Don’t Destroy: Road Trip digital short became massive viral hits, pulling in tens of millions of views across YouTube, Instagram Reels, and TikTok.