Few shows in television history have had the lifespan of “Saturday Night Live.” The sketch-comedy show has been a fixture on Saturday night for 46 years, boosting the careers of Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, and John Belushi.
A unique feature of the show has been its celebrity guest host. SNL has had a different guest host every week since it first aired in 1975. While not every guest host has worked out — with some so fractious that they were banned from the show — others resonated with television audiences.
To determine the best SNL hosts of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed audience ratings and other data for all Saturday Night Live episodes from the Internet Movie Database. SNL hosts were ranked based on an index composed of two elements: the average IMDb user rating for all episodes hosted by a guest and the total number of episodes hosted by that guest.
Guest hosts have been comedians, singers, politicians, future presidents, sports figures, actors, and reality-show stars. When a guest host clicks, it’s usually because he or she is able to poke fun at themselves, is on the same page with the comedy troupe, and enjoys the process of doing sketch comedy. The guest host also has to understand his or her role in the sketch and be willing to take chances, no matter how outrageous the skit is. (Find out if any of the best guest hosts also appeared on the best sitcoms of all time.)
Some guest hosts have been such a hit that they appeared numerous times on SNL. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin have between them guest-hosted SNL 31 times. Baldwin appeared in such famed SNL skits as “Canteen Boy” and “Schweddy Balls,” and has memorably caricatured Donald J. Trump. Martin first guest-hosted SNL in 1976 and last hosted in 2009. (Some SNL alums and guest hosts also play in the best comedy movies available to stream right now.)
“Saturday Night Live” alums Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, and Eddie Murphy successfully returned to their comedy roots as guest hosts. Fey’s impersonation of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was one of the highlights of the 2008 television season.
Former quarterback Peyton Manning distinguished himself by playing against his squeaky-clean image in skits that showed him teaching kids how to break into cars and not rat out their friends.
Actor Christopher Walken lampooned his unsettling screen persona on the show, which he has hosted seven times. Daniel Glover provided comedy and musical talent — he was the musical guest Childish Gambino — when he guest-hosted in 2018. Glover had appeared on the sitcom “Community” and was a member of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy.
Betty White, who passed away several weeks before her 100th birthday, brought her charm and decades-honed comedic timing to the show in 2010. NBC reaired the program on Jan. 1.
Successful guest hosts on SNL have embraced the challenge of performing on live and sometimes controversial television.
Click here to see the Best SNL celebrity hosts of all time
Methodology
To determine the best SNL hosts of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed audience ratings and other data for all Saturday Night Live episodes from the Internet Movie Database. SNL hosts were ranked based on an index composed of two elements: the average IMDb user rating for all episodes hosted by a guest and the total number of episodes hosted by that guest. Average user ratings were calculated using the number of user votes as a weight. While the average user rating for each host was given full weight in the index, the number of episodes hosted by each guest was given a half-weighting. IMDb ratings data was collected on December 29, 2021.
25. Donald Glover
> Avg. episode rating: 8.0/10 (412 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (May 5, 2018)
> Highest-rated episode: S43, Ep19 (Musical guest: Childish Gambino)
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24. Dwayne Johnson
> Avg. episode rating: 7.7/10 (610 votes)
> Appearances as host: 3 (Mar. 7, 2009 to May 20, 2017)
> Highest-rated episode: S40, Ep16 (Musical guest: George Ezra)
23. John Mulaney
> Avg. episode rating: 7.6/10 (1,377 votes)
> Appearances as host: 4 (Apr. 14, 2018 to Oct. 31, 2020)
> Highest-rated episode: S44, Ep14 (Musical guest: Thomas Rhett)
22. Carrie Fisher
> Avg. episode rating: 8.1/10 (133 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (Nov. 18, 1978)
> Highest-rated episode: S4, Ep6 (Musical guest: The Blues Brothers)
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21. Ron Howard
> Avg. episode rating: 8.1/10 (91 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (Oct. 9, 1982)
> Highest-rated episode: S8, Ep3 (Musical guest: The Clash)
20. Joan Rivers
> Avg. episode rating: 8.1/10 (73 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (Apr. 9, 1983)
> Highest-rated episode: S8, Ep17 (Musical guest: Musical Youth)
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19. Peyton Manning
> Avg. episode rating: 8.1/10 (214 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (Mar. 24, 2007)
> Highest-rated episode: S32, Ep16 (Musical guest: Carrie Underwood)
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18. Will Ferrell
> Avg. episode rating: 7.5/10 (1,026 votes)
> Appearances as host: 5 (May 14, 2005 to Nov. 23, 2019)
> Highest-rated episode: S34, Ep22 (Musical guest: Green Day)
17. Tina Fey
> Avg. episode rating: 7.4/10 (1,303 votes)
> Appearances as host: 6 (Feb. 23, 2008 to May 19, 2018)
> Highest-rated episode: S33, Ep5 (Musical guest: Carrie Underwood)
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16. Jim Carrey
> Avg. episode rating: 7.9/10 (769 votes)
> Appearances as host: 3 (May 18, 1996 to Oct. 25, 2014)
> Highest-rated episode: S21, Ep20 (Musical guest: Soundgarden)
15. Chevy Chase
> Avg. episode rating: 7.1/10 (595 votes)
> Appearances as host: 8 (Feb. 18, 1978 to Feb. 15, 1997)
> Highest-rated episode: S8, Ep1 (Musical guest: Queen)
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14. Bill Hader
> Avg. episode rating: 8.1/10 (696 votes)
> Appearances as host: 2 (Oct. 11, 2014 to Mar. 17, 2018)
> Highest-rated episode: S40, Ep3 (Musical guest: Hozier)
13. Eric Idle
> Avg. episode rating: 7.9/10 (448 votes)
> Appearances as host: 4 (Oct. 2, 1976 to Oct. 20, 1979)
> Highest-rated episode: S4, Ep8 (Musical guest: Kate Bush)
12. Christopher Walken
> Avg. episode rating: 7.4/10 (660 votes)
> Appearances as host: 7 (Jan. 20, 1990 to Apr. 5, 2008)
> Highest-rated episode: S25, Ep16 (Musical guest: Christina Aguilera)
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11. Jimmy Fallon
> Avg. episode rating: 8.0/10 (1,093 votes)
> Appearances as host: 3 (Dec. 17, 2011 to Apr. 15, 2017)
> Highest-rated episode: S39, Ep10 (Musical guest: Justin Timberlake)
10. Adam Sandler
> Avg. episode rating: 8.4/10 (409 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (May 4, 2019)
> Highest-rated episode: S44, Ep19 (Musical guest: Shawn Mendes)
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9. Richard Pryor
> Avg. episode rating: 8.5/10 (298 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (Dec. 13, 1975)
> Highest-rated episode: S1, Ep7 (Musical guest: Gil Scott-Heron)
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8. Tom Hanks
> Avg. episode rating: 7.1/10 (1,401 votes)
> Appearances as host: 10 (Dec. 14, 1985 to Apr. 11, 2020)
> Highest-rated episode: S42, Ep4 (Musical guest: Lady Gaga)
7. John Goodman
> Avg. episode rating: 6.6/10 (1,028 votes)
> Appearances as host: 13 (Dec. 2, 1989 to Dec. 14, 2013)
> Highest-rated episode: S20, Ep16 (Musical guest: Tragically Hip)
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6. Betty White
> Avg. episode rating: 8.7/10 (441 votes)
> Appearances as host: 1 (May 8, 2010)
> Highest-rated episode: S35, Ep21 (Musical guest: Jay-Z)
5. Buck Henry
> Avg. episode rating: 7.5/10 (990 votes)
> Appearances as host: 10 (Jan. 17, 1976 to May 24, 1980)
> Highest-rated episode: S4, Ep20 (Musical guest: Bette Midler)
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4. Justin Timberlake
> Avg. episode rating: 8.3/10 (1,268 votes)
> Appearances as host: 5 (Oct. 11, 2003 to Mar. 9, 2013)
> Highest-rated episode: S38, Ep16 (Musical guest: Justin Timberlake)
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3. Eddie Murphy
> Avg. episode rating: 8.7/10 (926 votes)
> Appearances as host: 3 (Dec. 11, 1982 to Dec. 21, 2019)
> Highest-rated episode: S45, Ep10 (Musical guest: Lizzo)
2. Alec Baldwin
> Avg. episode rating: 6.8/10 (1,866 votes)
> Appearances as host: 17 (Apr. 21, 1990 to Feb. 11, 2017)
> Highest-rated episode: S32, Ep5 (Musical guest: Christina Aguilera)
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1. Steve Martin
> Avg. episode rating: 7.7/10 (1,389 votes)
> Appearances as host: 14 (Oct. 23, 1976 to Jan. 31, 2009)
> Highest-rated episode: S3, Ep18 (Musical guest: The Blues Brothers)
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