Quinta Brunson is having one of those “pinch me” moments.
Tonight, Brunson is hosting the April 1 episode of Saturday Night Live after Jenny Ortega hosted on March 11, ending a short hiatus for the sketch comedy show. In promos for the episode, Brunson, joined by Lil Yachty and Sarah Sherman, go through Sherman’s first promo together. Sherman also has a slight panic attack after realizing she hasn’t paid her taxes and the gang makes a joke about Abbott Elementary.
Brunson spoke to Variety about the opportunity to host SNL, which she has been a fan of the show since childhood.
“It’s surreal. I’m just taking it day by day — like I normally do because everything is so surreal nowadays — but this one’s really exciting,” Brunson said. “SNL is the reason I even started pursuing comedy as a career, to be asked to host is just unreal. I can’t believe that I’m here and that it’s actually happening. It’s one of those ‘pinch yourself’ moments, for sure.”
Brunson is known as the creator and actress for Abbott Elementary, which is in its second season. Brunson won the Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy at this year’s Golden Globes. Brunson and the Abott Elementary team also won for comedy series.
During the broadcast of SNL, Brunson will also appear in a new 15-second ad promoting Hulu + Live TV. The spring campaign is dubbed “Hulu + Live TV Makes Sense” and will launch on April 17. You can watch the spot below.
As far as her monologue, she began with sharing how she always dreamed of being on SNL ever since she was kid. She then talked about creating Abott Elementary, making a network sitcom and referenced recent headlines about Friends’ lack of diversity in its cast. “Like Friends,” she said. “Except being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. And instead of New York, it is in Philadelphia. And instead of not having Black people, it does.”
You can watch the full monologue below, which also had a cameo from former President Barack Obama.