32 SNL Sketches That Mock Movies And TV Shows In A Bizarre, Unexpected Way

Typically, Saturday Night Live is pretty straightforward about its movie and TV show parodies, from its fake movie trailers to bits that directly recreate popular series. However, sometimes the long-running sketch comedy series likes to sneak up on the audience by referencing a well-known title in an irreverent way that might even change the way you think about the film or series forever. There are plenty of good examples, and these are some of the best.

Papyrus

One of the most beloved pre-recorded SNL bits of Season 43 (let alone all time) is called "Papyrus," after the common typeface. Host Ryan Gosling stars as a man obsessed with the fact that a movie as successful as 2009's Avatar was able to get away with using the font as its official logo. The short prompted a response from James Cameron and even inspired a cut-for-time sequel in 2024.

Crime Scene

Host Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis star in this Season 37 sketch as a detective and an officer at a crime scene in an apartment that, as the officer points out, resembles Jerry's from Seinfeld, which the detective claims to have never heard of since he does not own a TV, but it gets stranger from there. He also claims to have never heard of baseball or World War II, despite subsequently making references to the classic TV sitcom, the sport, and the global conflict. The sketch ends with him making a reference to CSI: Miami, which is one show he actually does watch.

Nick The Lounge Singer Sings The Star Wars Theme

One of the funniest recurring SNL characters from the show's early years is Nick the Lounge Singer, played by Bill Murray, who entertained his audience with ridiculous anecdotes and bizarre variations of the most unexpected tunes. For instance, one memorable sketch sees Nick add lyrics to John Williams' theme song from the Star Wars movies. The Force (and laughter) is strong with this one.

Beavis And Butt-Head

In a smash-hit sketch from SNL Season 49, an earnest discussion about A.I. on NewsNation becomes interrupted by two audience members (played by host Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day) who unwittingly happen to resemble the titular duo from the acclaimed animated TV show, Beavis and Butt-Head. Barely anyone could contain their laughter, especially Heidi Gardner, during this uproarious viral hit, which also ends with a group of people resembling characters from another popular Mike Judge cartoon, King of the Hill.

Kuato

From a Season 32 SNL episode hosted by Jaime Pressly, we have an obscure sketch in which Bill Hader plays a man with a small mutant (played by Andy Samberg) living in his stomach called a "Kuato," which Jason Sudeikis' character points out comes from the 1990 sci-fi movie favorite, Total Recall. The bit experienced something of a resurgence when mentioned on The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, which would later start calling its fans the "Quaid Army," in reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's character.

SNL Digital Short: Dear Sister

One of the most revered SNL Digital Shorts takes aim at a famous TV cliffhanger: The O.C. Season 2 finale, in which Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" plays after Marissa (Mischa Barton) shoots Trey (Logan Marshall-Green). "Dear Sister" recreates that tragic display over and over again by showing multiple people repeatedly shooting each other, followed by the dramatic needle drop every single time.

Gumby

One of Eddie Murphy's most iconic SNL characters was his own take on Gumby, which boasted little resemblance to the beloved claymation character in terms of his personality. The future Academy Award nominee made the green, sentient clay figure a cantankerous grown-up with a Jewish accent who does not take kindly to criticism.

Totino's Pizza Rolls

SNL ran a series of sketches involving the Totino's brand, and one of the most hilariously irreverent is a fake ad for Pizza Rolls. Vanessa Bayer's housewife character brings out a plate of the oven-baked snacks for a group of male football fans in the living room and discovers they have been shouting at a blank screen the whole time. After the men turn around to flash their blackened eyes at her, the ad is revealed to be a promo for the revival season of The X-Files.

Landshark

In the same year Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws came out, SNL aired a sketch imagining an unlikely idea for a sequel. Nothing seems unusual at first when Gilda Radner answers the door for what she assumes is a telegram until she is eaten by a shark that has legs and speaks with the voice of Chevy Chase.

Family Feud Cold Open

Here we have an example of an SNL sketch that unexpectedly pokes fun at both a popular movie franchise and a hit TV show. Family Feud host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) comes out to introduce his teams, one of which consists of Game of Thrones characters, while the other is made up of heroes and villains from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Samurai Night Fever

The legendary, late John Belushi made a huge impact on SNL in such a short time with his incredible arsenal of characters, including the Samurai. One edition of the recurring sketch puts him in place of John Travolta's Oscar-nominated role as Tony Manero in the hit 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever.

The Impossible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk TV series, starring Bill Bixby as scientist David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as his green, beastly alter ego, helped bring the Marvel Comics hero to the mainstream in the 1970s. Decades later, SNL aired a sketch with a similar concept, but with the caveat that the Black Bruce Banner (Idris Elba), when tormented, instead transforms into an “emboldened white lady" (played by Cecily Strong).

SNL Digital Short: Jack Sparrow

A great SNL bit featuring a musical artist is a classic Digital Short in which The Lonely Island invites Michael Bolton to record a seemingly earnest rap track with them. Yet, the Grammy winner is only interested in singing about movies, especially the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and even cosplays like Johnny Depp's Captain. Jack Sparrow.

Please Don't Destroy: Mikey Madison Is Squidward

In a short from host Mikey Madison's SNL Season 50 episode, the Academy Award-winning Anora star appears in the office of Please Don't Destroy dressed as Squidward Tentacles from SpongeBob Squarepants. This inspires the trio to collaborate with her on a reinterpretation of the Nicktoon as a dramatic coming-of-age series called Treading Water.

I'm Just Pete

Pete Davidson proves he is an SNL star with surprising musical talent in a sketch that starts off as a roast of what he has been doing since leaving Studio 8H, including Peacock's Bupkis. Suddenly, we are transported to what appears to be Barbieland, where the comedian performs a self-reflective tune inspired by Barbie's Academy Award-nominated original song, "I'm Just Ken."

Hobbit Office

This pre-taped bit sees host Martin Freeman poke fun at two of his best-known career accomplishments simultaneously. He reprises his role as Bilbo Baggins from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy, but in a setting that resembles the original British version of The Office.

Black Jeopardy With Chadwick Boseman

In the recurring "Black Jeopardy!" sketches, the joke is, typically, to show how out of touch (or surprisingly in touch, i.e., Tom Hanks' Doug) white people are with Black culture. However, one iteration from 2018 flipped the script a bit by having host Chadwick Boseman reprise his Black Panther role, T'Challa, as a contestant whose royal privilege has blinded him from the answers that host Darnell Hayes is looking for.

Walking Dead Chappelle's Show

For Dave Chappelle's first hosting gig at SNL, he decided to incorporate some of the characters from his hit Comedy Central sketch comedy series, Chappelle's Show, into a sketch with an interesting gimmick. He grouped the likes of Tyrone Biggums, "Silky" Johnson, and more into a pre-taped recreation of a famous scene from The Walking Dead, in which Chappelle also portrays Jeffrey Dean Morgan's dastardly foe, Negan.

Courtroom

Did you ever watch Jurassic World and wonder what kind of legal team the theme park would have had to hire after dinosaurs ran amok and attacked guests? SNL answers that question with a sketch starring host Donald Glover as an attorney who jumps through hoops trying to prove that his client, Jurassic World, is not liable for the horrifying tragedies that took place.

Cold Opening: The Peanuts Characters

One episode from SNL's 25th season opens with ABC News' Ted Koppel (Darryl Hammond) reporting on the passing of Peanuts creator Charles Schultz. He then interviews cast members Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch, and Horatio Sanz under extensive makeup to resemble classic characters from the comic strip and animated adaptation, Franklin, Marcie, and Pig Pen, as adults.

Firestarter Brand Smoked Sausages

One of Drew Barrymore's earliest leading roles was Charlie McGee in the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Firestarter. The actor would reprise the role years later in a faux SNL ad for a brand of smoked sausages that the now grown-up Charlie cooks herself... with her pyrokinetic abilities.

School Vs. School

"School vs. School" is a sketch set on the eponymous game show that pits teams comprised of teachers and their star students against each other. In this case, Mrs. Cashman (Punkie Johnson), Manny (Marcello Hernandez), and Gabe (Michael Longfellow) from West Grove High School are scheduled to compete against Professor Zander (Mikey) and his gifted students Zena (Jenna Ortega) and Knockout (Molly Kearney), who resemble Professor Xavier and a couple of the mutants from the animated X-Men series.

Chucky

In a pre-taped bit from host Jake Gyllenhaal's Season 47 episode, three coworkers (played by Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, and Melissa Villaseñor) are indulging in some bathroom gossip and comparing their coworker Janet (Aidy Bryant) to another coworker named Chucky. As it turns out, they are referring to the iconic horror movie villain from the Child's Play movies (played by Sarah Sherman), and the murderous possessed doll does not take kindly to being compared to Janet, which forces them to attend an HR meeting.

Giuliani Cold Open

An SNL episode from 2015 opens with the surprising appearance of Taran Killam as Rudy Giuliani on a press tour in response to a controversial comment he made about then-president Barack Obama. However, it soon becomes apparent that Killam was chosen for his impression of Michael Keaton when the sketch turns into a parody of recent Best Picture Oscar winner, Birdman, complete with one-take cinematography and an overhead narration from Giuliani's winged alter ego (played by Beck Bennett).

Discover Card

The credit card company Discover used to run a campaign in which people consulted customer service reps who resembled their personal and physical attributes. SNL poked fun at this with a faux ad in which Ego Nwodim's character gets served by her "tethered" doppelganger, like in Jordan Peele's hit 2019 thriller, Us.

Parole Board

"Parole Board" is a great SNL sketch featuring a famous musician (Blake Shelton, in this case) in which Kenan Thompson plays a convict depicted in a similar fashion to Morgan Freeman's Red from 1994's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption. He is up for parole, but is rejected because, as Shelton's board member reveals, he is being incarcerated for cannibalism.

Please Don't Destroy: Bad Bunny Is Shrek

The Shrek movies have been irreverently mocked on a few occasions, such as when Sterling K. Brown played a man who staunchly argues with his girlfriend's parents that the Dreamworks hit is the all-time best animated movie. However, that sketch is not as funny, or nearly as weird, as the Please Don't Destroy video in which host and musical guest Bad Bunny appears in the trio's office dressed as the ogre and makes them participate in his preposterous reboot of the farcical fairy tale.

Joker Wedding

SNL's Season 48 Halloween episode features a sketch taking place at an All Hallow's Eve wedding that is nearly ruined by the best man (played by Andrew Dismukes) because he insists on dressing like Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. Suddenly, the sketch turns into a parody of Survivor, complete with a jaw-dropping cameo by Jeff Probst, who appears to count the votes over whether or not the Joker costume should stay on.

Jumanji

On the night Kristen Wiig joined SNL's Five-Timers Club, she starred in a sketch as a woman who joins her new boyfriend and his friends for a get-together. However, when Andrew Dismukes' character recommends playing a board game, she refuses, fearing she could end up like the characters from 1995's Jumanji. This incites a ridiculous argument over the mechanics of the fictional mystical game and its "jungle emergencies."

SNL Digital Short: The Curse

In the Season 35 SNL Digital Short, "The Curse," Andy Samberg plays an ignorant executive who accidentally crushes a trinket belonging to a homeless man (Fred Armisen) who then casts a spell on him. As a result, he becomes haunted by the random appearances of Jon Hamm as a handsome saxophone player who resembles artist Tim Capello from a memorable musical moment from the horror movie, The Lost Boys.

Djesus Uncrossed

SNL has poked fun at Quentin Tarantino's movies on several occasions, but none have been as clever (or controversial) as its fake trailer for Djesus Uncrossed. Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz plays the Son of Man in a reinterpretation of his resurrection as a gritty revenge thriller a la Django Unchained.

Cosby Obama

In a 2012 sketch, then-First Lady Michelle Obama (Maya Rudolph), as part of her bid to end childhood obesity, presents a half-hour comedy special promoting healthy choices that stars her family called The Obama Show. The program is depicted in the style of The Cosby Show, complete with Fred Armisen combining his impersonation of the then-U.S. president with that of Bill Cosby.