Bowen Yang Transforms Into Charli XCX for Political-Themed Talk Show on ‘SNL’ Season Premiere: Watch
Brat summer isn’t over just yet.
During the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night Live on Sept. 28, cast member Bowen Yang hilariously portrayed British pop star Charli XCX in a political-themed talk show featuring her current tourmate Troye Sivan (played by SNL‘s Sarah Sherman) as the DJ.
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The nearly five-minute sketch opened with Yang’s Charli introducing her Talk Talk Show, a nod to one of the singer’s song titles, and moving into a segment called “brat or nat,” in which she ran through a handful of recent news topics, including Hunter Biden’s laptop (deemed “brat”) and Mark Robinson’s search history (“nat”).
Yang’s Charli — who sported a black wig, dark sunglasses and stylish dress — then welcomed her guests: club legend Susanne Bartsch (played by SNL host Jean Smart), CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Ego Nwodim).
“Have you ever done ketamine?” Yang’s Charli asked to Fineman’s Collins, who responded with frustration over not being asked current political events.
The talk show’s background was appropriately colored the same lime green as the cover of Charli XCX’s latest album, Brat, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in late June. The singer is currently on the road with her Sweat Tour, which visits U.S. arenas through the end of October.
Saturday’s SNL season premiere also featured musical guest Jelly Roll, making his debut on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show. The country star performed “Liar” and “Winning Streak,” which will appear on his upcoming album, Beautifully Broken, set for release on Oct. 11.
The next SNL on Oct. 5 will see comedian Nate Bargatze returning as host for a second straight season with Coldplay back as musical guest for an eighth time on the long-running show. The Chris Martin-fronted band first performed on the show in 2001, and their most recent appearance was in 2023.
Watch SNL‘s “Charli XCX Talk Show” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
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