The top 10 'SNL' sketches this season (so far), ranked, from 'HBO Mario Kart' to Quinta Brunson

What makes a classic "SNL" sketch?

Well, first you need the right subject material paired with the right jokes, performed by the best cast and helped by an adept host, and then it all needs to happen at the right cultural moment.

So suffice it to say, it's not easy to bring a whole show "live from New York" every Saturday night. We took a look at the sketches from this Season 48 of "SNL" (Saturdays, 11:30 EST/8:30 PST) and picked the very best of them. From Mario Kart to traffic jams to COVID-19, the writers, cast and hosts are sometimes able to make comedy gold. ("SNL" returns April 9, with Molly Shannon as host.)

10. 'Straight Male Friend'

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champ Travis Kelce proved one of the most entertaining hosts of the season so far, surprisingly game for whatever the "SNL" writers threw at him. But the real star of this sketch, about the benefits of straight male friends for gay men, was Bowen Yang. The cast member gets to play a more understated role than he is usually offered in this cheeky and silly, if not laugh-out-loud, fake commercial.

9. 'A Christmas Epiphany'

Another riff on holiday-themed pop culture, this "It's A Wonderful Life"-style sketch from the Dec. 17 episode stars host Austin Butler as a drunk who realizes he should have prioritized love and family when he passes by a happy Christmas Eve dinner. But that family thinks he's a psycho killer who's stalking them. The sketch works well because of Butler's excellent Jimmy Stewart affect and the commitment of the cast, including Heidi Gardner, Andrew Dismukes, Sherman and Marcello Hernandez, playing the family.

8. 'Send Something Normal'

The sketch that got the most attention from the Oct. 1 season premiere of "SNL" was the self-referential cold open, but it was this game show parody that really stole the Miles Teller-hosted episode. Sure, "Send Something Normal," which made fun of male celebrities involved in direct-messaging scandals, was a one-joke pony, but it was an extremely funny and relevant one, with a great Neil deGrasse Tyson impression from Kenan Thompson.

7. 'COVID Commercial'

Few TV shows have incorporated what the state of the pandemic is really like into their scripts, but "SNL" nailed one aspect of our societal relationship with COVID-19 in this commercial parody from Amy Schumer's Nov. 5 episode.

More: 'SNL' may have a green new cast this year, but it's the hosts that are the big problem

6. 'AA Meeting'

Anytime the host is outside the world of comedy and acting, "SNL" runs the risk of a slow and shaky episode. But rapper Jack Harlow made a solid game effort in his Oct. 29 episode. His best performance was this silly but fun sketch about an AA member more concerned with his idea for a Pixar movie than his recovery. Cecily Strong comes in with a song at the end to really tie it all together.

5. 'Traffic Altercation'

The concept is remarkably simple in this sketch, but still quite funny. Host Quinta Brunson, Mikey Day and Chloe Fineman play dueling motorists stuck in traffic miming insults to one another. Day is the best physical comedian among the current cast, and his expressive face does well in the closeup in this sketch, exaggerating every expression and raised eyebrow.

4. 'Hello Kitty'

First-time host Keke Palmer proved an adept sketch comedian in her Dec. 3 episode, and she had a blast in this sketch with Yang: They played the only two employees at a Hello Kitty store who are (righteously) disturbed by the character's backstory. The hilarious sketch doesn't even need the Natasha Lyonne cameo at the end.

3. 'HBO Mario Kart Trailer'

"The Last of Us" star Pedro Pascal is the best host "SNL" has booked this season, a secret comedy king who has been working in serious genre TV for years. Playing on his strengths and the success of "Us," an adaptation of a popular dystopian video game, "SNL" suggested in the Feb. 4 episode that HBO adapt another game, "Mario Kart." Full of specific and very funny references to prestige TV and the Nintendo racing games, you can tell the writers and performers had the time and money to make it soar. Or drive, if you will.

2. 'Male Confidence Seminar'

Right behind Pascal in the list of the best hosts is Michael B. Jordan. The "Creed III" actor/director made the most of his natural charisma during his Jan. 28 episode but was more than just eye candy in this sketch about a male confidence seminar run by Dismukes that goes off the rails when Jordan comes to deliver a water-cooler jug.

1. 'Waking Up'

"SNL" should really consider offering Pascal a full-time gig. In this understated Feb. 4 sketch, the actor makes every joke work on the strength of his commitment to a ridiculous voice and silly dialogue as a coma patient who wakes up sounding like a Valley Girl from Los Angeles. It's simple, it's well-written and superbly performed by Pascal, Gardner, Sherman and Thompson, and that's all "SNL" has to be.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best 'SNL' sketches of Season 48 (so far) from 'Mario Kart' to 'AA'