SNL has been on the air for almost half a century. In that time, what was once an elite group — namely the “Five-Timers Club,” aka the group of performers who’ve hosted the show at least five times — has became quite a bit less exclusive. At this point, there are about 25 members. So when John Mulaney was finally inducted into its ranks on Saturday’s episode, his colleagues wound up questioning if it’s even special anymore at all.
Mulaney — who was once a lowly staff writer before he became a stand-up deity, emerging with some very good stories, including one about Mick Jagger — was joined by a smattering of fellow five-timers, including Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Tina Fey, newbie Paul Rudd, even Elliott Gould, who hosted six times in the first five seasons alone.
“Let me be the first person to say ‘who are you’?,” joked Bergen, the show’s first-ever female host, whose five stints came between 1975 and 1990. Mulaney replied, “You wouldn’t know me but if you have a niece or a son who’s bad at sports, they might.”
Rudd spent the sketch lamenting his aborted fifth hosting gig in mid-December, which saw most of the cast and crew and musical guest staying home amidst a sudden spike in Omicron-related COVID cases. Martin, meanwhile, noted that the once tiny group had gotten too big. “What we’re all trying to say is that this has become not special,” he said.
At that point, Conan O’Brien burst into the room. Was he a five-timer? Nope! He was, like Mulaney, a staff writer but he’s only hosted once, back in 2001. “John, don’t listen to them, this is very, very special. I was in the very first five-timers special,” O’Brien said, noting that he had a bit part in the first sketch about the club, when Tom Hanks joined the ranks. “John and I were never supposed to be on TV. We’re hideous.”
You can watch Mulaney’s big moment in the video above.