Saturday Night Live — a sketch comedy show hosted by a different celebrity and featuring a new musical guest each week — has been on air since 1975 for a total of 49 seasons and continues strong to this day. Once an individual has hosted SNL five times, they are awarded a jacket and admitted into the Five-Timers Club. After hosting SNL on April 6th, Kristen Wiig officially joined this prestigious club.
Wiig joined other comedic legends in the Five-Timers Club such as John Mulaney, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. She also became the seventh woman to be admitted into the exclusive club joining Drew Barrymore, Candice Bergen, Tina Fey, Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy, and Emma Stone. Wiig worked on SNL from 2005-2012 for seven seasons as a cast member, during which she also starred in films such as Bridesmaids, Anchorman, and How to Train Your Dragon; however, she did not begin to host the SNL until after she left the show. Alongside hosting SNL five times, after her time as a regular on the show ended, Wiig went on to star in further films such as The Martian, Ghostbusters, and Wonder Woman 1984.
During her fifth time hosting, Wiig began her show with an exciting monologue describing what an honor it was to be admitted into the Five-Timers Club; however, she was quickly interrupted by Paul Rudd who mirrored Wiig’s excitement and pointed out how she would be getting her Five-Timers jacket. He also foreshadowed her Five-Timers sketch with “awesome celebrity cameos” by asking if there was a script he should look at for it, before being swiftly disappointed by her rejection.
After the interruption, Wiig attempts to get her monologue back on track when she is interrupted again by Paula Pell, a former SNL writer, and Matt Damon who unintentionally makes her feel less-than-special for earning her jacket. She then turns to a group of five men (Jon Hamm, Fred Armisen, Will Forte, and Martin Short) wearing their Five-Timers jackets, none of whom had actually hosted SNL five times, which furthers her disillusionment towards the exclusivity of the Five-Timers Club. After accidentally making Wiig feel underwhelmed by her accomplishment, Matt Damon attempts, and fails, to make Kristen Wiig feel better and eventually he and the five men, plus Paul Rudd, break into song. Their musical number was interrupted when Will Forte spotted Ryan Gosling with his Five-Timers jacket. Gosling mentions how he is unworthy of the jacket and ultimately presents Wiig with her Five-Timers jacket, even lint-rolling it for her.
Kristen Wiig being awarded her Five-Timers jacket is not only a great accomplishment for her, but it also shows the progress women are making in the comedic field. Throughout her career, Kristen Wiig has acted as a role model to many young women with comedic aspirations as she builds on the work of previous women trailblazers (such as Candice Bergen) in the comedy field set for her. Overall, Kristen Wiig’s entrance into the Five-Timers Club is a great achievement.
