Aubrey Plaza made her Saturday Night Live debut on January 21, and plenty of her fans are now wondering why she wasn’t cast on the long-running sketch show sooner, especially because she originally auditioned for it early in her career.
Without SNL on her résumé, Plaza has done well for herself in the last 17 years. She started her career playing a page on an episode of 30 Rock, the Tina Fey-created sitcom set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza where SNL is shot.
In another example of life imitating art, Plaza actually worked as an SNL page circa 2004. She used her experience working behind the scenes of SNL as inspiration for her opening monologue on Saturday.
Plaza was the first Latine to host SNL during its 48th season. If SNL is wondering who they should tap next as host, we have some ideas. Until next time, here are the five best Aubrey Plaza moments of the evening.
1
Grandma Margie
During her opening monologue, Plaza joked about always sounding sarcastic and then introduced her parents to the audience. Well, she was actually being sarcastic again, and instead, the camera cut to a statue of Medusa and an oversized voodoo doll. But then, Plaza really did introduce her grandma who was sitting in the stands. Grandma Margie couldn’t have looked prouder.
2
Speaking Spanish in 'White Lotus' Spinoff
SNL viewers would never have forgiven the show’s writers if they hadn’t created a skit spoofing Plaza’s The White Lotus. For the skit, the name of the popular HBO series was changed to The Black Lotus where the Black employees are in charge of the resort. Plaza played a Latina bartender who wasn’t much help to her co-workers and very inappropriate with the hotel guests. “Escucha me, mijo,” Plaza tells a guy having a drink at the bar. “There’s plenty of hoes out there that never slept with your papi.”
3
April Ludgate Returns
Viewers also wouldn’t have let SNL writers get away without writing a skit based on Plaza’s popular TV series Parks and Recreations. Fans of the sitcom, which ran on NBC from 2009 to 2015, must’ve fallen off their couch when Plaza joined Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che playing her character April Ludgate. Along with Plaza making an appearance as April, Amy Poehler showed up reprising her role as Leslie Knope.
4
She Puts the Fun in Nun
Alongside SNL featured player Molly Kearney, Plaza played one of two nuns whose job it was to make the morning announcements at an Irish Catholic high school. Plaza’s character, Sister Cecelia, however, just had a near-death experience and isn’t sure she believes in God anymore. “When I was dead, I didn’t see heaven.” Plaza had played a nun before in the 2017 dark comedy The Little Hours.
5
No Easy Answers
In another skit, Plaza shares a bit too much information during game night with her new neighbors. During a game of Taboo, Sasha (Plaza) tries to get her husband to guess words based on clues she gives him, but the outcome freaks out the rest of the party. “I’m really cranky in the morning until I’ve had my…” Sasha says. Her husband answers: “Acid,” which, surprisingly, was the correct answer. It doesn’t get much better when they switch sides and Sasha answers. “You always steal these from hotels,” her husband says. Sasha answers: “Cars!” Now do Pictionary!
Bonus: In a later skit, which was shot like a classic film noir, actress Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) shows up to play Plaza’s mother. When the skit was over and before the show went to commercial, Plaza appeared in this photo bumper…