For the first time since 2020, Halloween landed on a Saturday, and Saturday Night Live made the most of it. The October 31 episode featured “Obsession” star Inde Navarrette as host, Gracie Abrams as musical guest, and a surprise visit from one of the show’s most beloved seasonal characters: Tom Hanks as David S. Pumpkins.

Here are the highlights, based on reporting from Variety and NBC Insider.

Any questions? David S. Pumpkins is back

David S. Pumpkins first appeared in a 2016 Halloween sketch and quickly became a cult favourite: a man in a pumpkin-covered suit who keeps popping up on a haunted ride for reasons nobody can explain. Hanks brought him back once before, in 2022.

This year’s cold open followed the familiar formula. Grace Reiter and Jeremy Culhane played a young couple taking a ride at a low-budget amusement park Halloween attraction, with Kenan Thompson as a ghoulish Grim Reaper guiding them through the scares.

Then Pumpkins appeared with his trademark dorky dance, backed by Mikey Day and, in a treat for longtime fans, former cast member Bobby Moynihan. Day and Moynihan, who helped create the character, wore their full-body skeleton suits and white face paint.

A political twist

The sketch then swerved into politics, as SNL cold opens often do. James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump interrupted the ride to complain about Republicans’ chances in the November 3 midterm elections.

“We both appeared in 2016. We’re both very loud, very orange and, frankly, very annoying,” Johnson’s Trump said of Pumpkins, according to Variety. From there, the sketch leaned into a string of risqué jokes and references to the campaign trail, including the Texas Senate race.

Saidah Belo-Osagie also showed up as Nicki Minaj, playing on the rapper’s public support for Trump. The bit cast her as the president’s next pick for press secretary. The sketch ended with Thompson’s Grim Reaper storming off and the traditional “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” being deliberately flubbed.

Inde Navarrette takes the stage

Navarrette, whose film “Obsession” has made her one of the breakout names of the year, led the episode as host. Variety reported that her monologue included a swipe at comedian Shane Gillis, and her Halloween sketch “The Inventor’s Wife” quickly became one of the night’s most discussed bits.

It was a busy week for Navarrette, who was also named among the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos honorees earlier in the week.

Gracie Abrams on the music stage

Gracie Abrams performed as musical guest. According to Rolling Stone’s coverage, her set included “Hit the Wall” and “Here You Come, There You Go.”

Drunk Uncle celebrates the Brewers

Weekend Update had its own cameo. Moynihan stuck around to revive another of his classic characters, Drunk Uncle, who used the segment to celebrate the Milwaukee Brewers’ first World Series title, won against the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the week.

How to watch

If you missed the live broadcast, NBC typically posts sketches from each episode on SNL’s official YouTube channel, and full episodes stream on Peacock. The cold open and Weekend Update are usually the first clips to go up.

Why Halloween episodes work for SNL

Holiday episodes let SNL bring back recurring characters that audiences already love, and David S. Pumpkins is the perfect example. The character only appears around Halloween, so each return feels like an event. Pairing that nostalgia with topical political humour gave the show a cold open that was guaranteed to be shared widely the next morning.

The wrap-up

SNL’s Halloween night delivered exactly what fans wanted: a surprise Tom Hanks appearance, a Bobby Moynihan double-dip and a spooky, confident turn from host Inde Navarrette. If you missed it, the sketches are already making the rounds online. Any questions?

Image: 30 Rockefeller Plaza viewed from 5th Avenue, August 29, 2024 by D. Benjamin Miller via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0