Actor, singer, dancer, and consummate hustler Jennifer Lopez has done it again. As NBC announced Wednesday, the beloved multi-hyphenate will return to host Saturday Night Live on December 7—her third turn as emcee after gigs in 2001 and 2010.
Given her stellar performance in Hustlers, it’s hardly any surprise that Lopez would be invited back to Studio 8H—but the timing of this particular visit is fortuitous. The episode will, after all, air the week before Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations are announced—just one day, in fact, before SAG award voting closes. Lopez is making the most of her triple-threat talents during awards season, using every available opportunity to remind people that, yes, she really can do all of that.
Jennifer Lopez has earned critical praise for her acting before—most notably after she played the late Selena in 1997. When the movie debuted, Roger Ebert described Lopez’s performance as “star-making.” She’s since shot dramas, a healthy spate of rom-coms, and that one movie where the boy next door gave her a “first edition” copy if The Iliad. But with Hustlers, Lopez seized a rare opportunity, blending together her talent for comedy, dancing, and dramatic acting to produce a performance that felt singular. It’s hard to imagine who else could have played Hustlers anti-heroine Ramona with such swagger and vulnerability.
Unlike the past two times she’s hosted SNL, however, Lopez will not serve as her own musical guest this time around; instead the musical performer for the night will be rapper DaBaby. We’d say we hope Chris Kattan returns so that recurring his character, Mango, can stage a diva battle re-match—but something tells us that’s not likely. Still, given how long it’s been since Lopez last hosted—a decade goes by so fast!—she’ll have her hands full with plenty of material to work with.
Everything Jennifer Lopez Does in a Day
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