Will Ferrell has played some of the funniest characters in SNL history: Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan, nightclubber Steve Butabi, hot tub bather Roger Klarvin, and cowbell fanatic Gene Frenkle. He’s off the show now and doing bigger things, like hosting the Rose Parade and playing Sherlock Holmes to John C. Reilly’s John Watson. But if Lorne Michaels wants another Blue Öyster Cult sketch, Leslie Jones would be more than happy to bang that bell.
In the promo for this weekend’s episode, Jones shows off her best impressions of Ferrell’s most famous characters. There’s Cheri Oteri’s partner-in-pep, President George W. Bush, Harry Caray, Alex Trebek, the “Get Off the Shed!” guy, and the MVP of BOC’s biggest hit, “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” Jones would be doing a disservice to every member of the SNL cast and crew if she didn’t play the hell out of the cowbell, so she does. Ferrell is not impressed, though.
Ferrell has hosted SNL four times since departing the show in 2002: 2005 with Queens of the Stone Age, 2009 with Green Day (that’s the episode that ended with everyone singing “Goodnight Saigon” by Billy Joel for… reasons?), 2012 with Usher, and now, 2018 with Uproxx favorite Chris Stapleton.
Natalie Portman and Dua Lipa are next in line.
