Before John Mulaney became an Emmy-winning stand-up icon filling Madison Square Garden, he was one of the sharpest, most inventive writers in Saturday Night Live history.
Between 2008 and 2012, Mulaney quietly co-created some of the show’s most enduring institutions—including Bill Hader’s legendary Weekend Update correspondent Stefon. But when Lorne Michaels invited Mulaney back to host in 2018, it inaugurated a golden era of guest-hosting that catapulted him directly into the prestigious Five-Timers Club.
Mulaney transformed his hosting stints into extravagant, Broadway-scale love letters to New York City’s most absurd, disgusting eccentricities: diners serving seafood, bodega restrooms, airport grab-and-go sushi, and underground transit churros.
Whether you’re exploring his stand-up legacy in our guide to the 10 best John Mulaney specials and shows ranked or checking out our countdown of the best Ryan Gosling SNL sketches, here are the 10 best John Mulaney SNL sketches of all time, ranked by lyrical genius, surprise cameos, and laugh-out-loud absurdity—complete with official video streams for every sketch.
The 10 Best John Mulaney SNL Sketches at a Glance
🦞 1. Diner Lobster (Season 43, 2018) — Co-starring Pete Davidson & Kenan Thompson
🚽 2. Bodega Bathroom (Season 44, 2019) — Co-starring Kenan Thompson & Kate McKinnon
🍣 3. Airport Sushi (Season 45, 2020) — Special Guests David Byrne & Jake Gyllenhaal
💃 4. Cha Cha Slide (Season 44, 2019) — Co-starring Ego Nwodim & Kenan Thompson
🚇 5. New York Musical / Subway Churro (Season 46, 2020) — Special Guest Maya Rudolph
❓ 6. What's That Name? (Season 44, 2019) — Co-starring Bill Hader & Cecily Strong
📺 7. Sitcom Reboot (Season 43, 2018) — Co-starring Kenan Thompson & Cecily Strong
🎭 8. Subway Platform (Season 47, 2022) — Special Guests LCD Soundsystem & Bowen Yang
🦅 9. Cinema Classics: The Birds (Season 45, 2020) — Co-starring Kate McKinnon & Kenan Thompson
🚌 10. Port Authority Duane Reade (Season 47, 2022) — Co-starring Cecily Strong
1. Diner Lobster (Season 43, 2018)
- Co-stars: Pete Davidson, Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon
- The Musical: Les Misérables (“Who Am I?”, “Do You Hear the People Sing?”)
- The Premise: Two young New Yorkers sit in an ordinary greasy-spoon Greek diner. When Pete Davidson commits the cardinal sin of ordering the seafood lobster off the back of the grease-stained menu, the diner suddenly transforms into a full-scale tragic French opera.
- Why It Works: Kenan Thompson rising through dry-ice mist in a giant crustacean costume to sing “Who Am I?” as Jean Valjean, accompanied by a claw-waving Les Mis chorus.
Written by Mulaney and Colin Jost in 2009 and rejected at table reads for nine consecutive years, Diner Lobster was finally unleashed when Mulaney hosted in 2018—and it became an instant classic. It proved that sometimes the most absurd ideas just need the right moment to shine, launching an entire annual Broadway parody tradition.
▶ Watch "Diner Lobster" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
2. Bodega Bathroom (Season 44, 2019)
- Co-stars: Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon
- The Musical: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (“Pure Imagination”, “The Candyman”)
- The Premise: When a desperate customer asks the clerk at an NYC corner deli for the bathroom key attached to a heavy wooden plank, he unlocks a mythical world of grotesque wonders.
- Why It Works: Kenan glides into frame as the Willy Wonka bodega candyman, celebrating sour candies, expired dairy, and a giant anthropomorphic cockroach with cat ears (Kate McKinnon).
Mulaney’s lyrical precision and deep love for New York street realities make this the most satisfying sequel in sketch comedy history. Every single line captures the universal dread and bizarre mystique of New York City corner stores.
▶ Watch "Bodega Bathroom" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
3. Airport Sushi (Season 45, 2020)
- Co-stars: Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, David Byrne, Jake Gyllenhaal
- The Musical: The Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Annie
- The Premise: At Terminal 2 of LaGuardia Airport, an unhinged traveler purchases pre-made raw tuna sushi from a newsstand carousel.
- Why It Works: Kenan Thompson as the Phantom of LaGuardia, Jake Gyllenhaal flying on wires singing about airport security, and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne performing in his iconic oversized white suit.
Elevating the NYC musical trilogy to dizzying heights, Airport Sushi is the single most star-studded, technically intricate sketch in modern SNL history. The rapid transitions between classic Broadway melodies are executed with pinpoint precision.
▶ Watch "Airport Sushi" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
4. Cha Cha Slide (Season 44, 2019)
- Co-stars: Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Chris Redd, Leslie Jones
- The Premise: An awkward, cardigan-wearing white brother-in-law attends an African-American family reunion dance, but turns out to be a lethal, synchronized master of DJ Casper’s “Cha Cha Slide”.
- Why It Works: Stripping away massive musical sets, this sketch relies entirely on dance synchronization and deadpan visual contrast.
Mulaney hitting every stomp, hop, and slide with stone-faced military precision alongside the family is effortlessly charming and endlessly rewatchable. His earnest, smiling dedication makes the visual contrast brilliant.
▶ Watch "Cha Cha Slide" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
5. New York Musical / Subway Churro (Season 46, 2020)
- Co-stars: Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Maya Rudolph, Beck Bennett
- The Musical: Little Shop of Horrors, Les Misérables
- The Premise: Buying an unheated Mexican churro from a shopping cart on the subway platform triggers a supernatural awakening among the city’s underground denizens.
- Why It Works: Maya Rudolph as the Statue of Liberty belting soaring anthems, and Kenan as a mutated sewer rat.
Recorded during the height of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, it served as a hilarious, defiant tribute to the indomitable spirit of New York City and its weirdest transit snacks.
▶ Watch "Subway Churro" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
6. What’s That Name? (Season 44, 2019)
- Co-stars: Bill Hader, Cecily Strong
- The Premise: A high-stakes television game show where contestants can name obscure celebrities and politicians in seconds, but face complete existential panic when asked to name the friend their girlfriend introduced them to three weeks ago.
- Why It Works: Mulaney plays sadistic game show host Vince Blake with slick, smiling cruelty.
Watching his contestants sweat, stutter, and offer thousands of dollars to avoid saying “I don’t know his name” captures the universal nightmare of casual social forgetfulness with pinpoint comedic accuracy. Bill Hader’s guest appearance elevates the tension into hysterical farce.
▶ Watch "What's That Name" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
7. Sitcom Reboot (Season 43, 2018)
- Co-stars: Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Luke Null
- The Premise: An energetic 1980s family sitcom where the cheerful father character is inexplicably replaced mid-episode by a completely different actor who makes no attempt to match the original tone.
- Why It Works: Mulaney stepping onto the bright multi-cam set delivering dark, inappropriate lines in a deadpan drone while the applause sign blinks.
It’s a sharp deconstruction of network television conventions and studio audience conditioning, proving Mulaney’s mastery of multi-cam TV history.
▶ Watch "Sitcom Reboot" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
8. Subway Platform (Season 47, 2022)
- Co-stars: Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, LCD Soundsystem
- The Musical: Stephen Sondheim (Company, Sweeney Todd)
- The Premise: A tourist accidentally drops his metro card between the train and the platform edge, invoking the tortured musical ghosts of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim.
- Why It Works: Bowen Yang’s performance as an angry Broadway baby and LCD Soundsystem appearing as subway guardians.
Paying loving tribute to Sondheim just months after his passing, Mulaney and the cast transformed complicated musical theater counterpoint into an ode to dirty puddle splashes, unhinged subway preachers, and delayed trains.
▶ Watch "Subway Platform" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
9. Cinema Classics: The Birds (Season 45, 2020)
- Co-stars: Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon
- The Premise: Host Reese De’What presents alternate takes from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic The Birds, where Tippi Hedren is attacked not by swooping crows, but by an aggressively indifferent bird trainer.
- Why It Works: Mulaney simply chucking plastic seagulls directly into Kate McKinnon’s face with complete nonchalance.
His dry, exhausted line delivery opposite Kenan’s dignified host persona delivers non-stop laughs while celebrating classic Hollywood cinema.
▶ Watch "Cinema Classics: The Birds" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
10. Port Authority Duane Reade (Season 47, 2022)
- Co-stars: Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson
- The Premise: A lonely commuter in the fluorescent-lit purgatory of the Port Authority Bus Terminal sings a melancholic Broadway duet with an abandoned convenience store item.
- Why It Works: Capturing the unique, damp melancholy of commuter bus travel through soaring vocals and absurd lyrics.
Mulaney’s self-deprecating vocal delivery and Cecily Strong’s powerhouse pipes create an absurdly emotional tribute to New York transit purgatory.
▶ Watch "Port Authority Duane Reade" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
John Mulaney SNL Sketch Comparison Table
| Sketch Title | Season / Year | Broadway Parody | Co-Stars & Cameos | Video Player & Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diner Lobster | Season 43 (2018) | Les Misérables | Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson | Watch on YouTube |
| Bodega Bathroom | Season 44 (2019) | Willy Wonka | Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon | Watch on YouTube |
| Airport Sushi | Season 45 (2020) | Phantom of the Opera | David Byrne, Jake Gyllenhaal | Watch on YouTube |
| Cha Cha Slide | Season 44 (2019) | DJ Casper Parody | Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson | Watch on YouTube |
| Subway Churro | Season 46 (2020) | Little Shop of Horrors | Maya Rudolph, Beck Bennett | Watch on YouTube |
| What’s That Name? | Season 44 (2019) | Game Show Satire | Bill Hader, Cecily Strong | Watch on YouTube |
| Sitcom Reboot | Season 43 (2018) | 80s Multi-Cam Deconstruction | Kenan Thompson, Luke Null | Watch on YouTube |
| Subway Platform | Season 47 (2022) | Stephen Sondheim Parody | LCD Soundsystem, Bowen Yang | Watch on YouTube |
| Cinema Classics | Season 45 (2020) | Hitchcock Parody | Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson | Watch on YouTube |
| Port Authority | Season 47 (2022) | Transit Duet | Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson | Watch on YouTube |
Frequently Asked Questions About John Mulaney on SNL
Was John Mulaney ever an official cast member on Saturday Night Live?
No. Despite his immense popularity and five hosting gigs, John Mulaney was never a featured or repertory cast member on Saturday Night Live. He worked primarily as a writer on the show from 2008 to 2012 (occasionally appearing on Weekend Update), before returning as a guest host starting in 2018.
Who co-wrote the “Diner Lobster” sketch?
“Diner Lobster” was co-written by John Mulaney and current Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost in 2009 during their second season as writers on the show. The sketch was rejected at table reads for nearly nine years until Mulaney hosted in April 2018.
Is John Mulaney in the SNL Five-Timers Club?
Yes. John Mulaney officially joined the Five-Timers Club on February 26, 2022 (Season 47, Episode 14). He was inducted in a star-studded sketch featuring Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Paul Rudd, and Conan O’Brien.
Where can I stream full episodes of John Mulaney hosting SNL?
All seasons and episodes of Saturday Night Live, including John Mulaney’s complete hosting appearances, are available to stream on Peacock and can be viewed in curated playlists on the official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel.
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