Bill Hader

We were wondering how long it would take for Taylor Swift to show up in a skit for tonight's Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, and, thankfully, we only had to wait about an hour or so to see her in all her comedic glory.

Weekend Update has been a staple of 'Saturday Night Live' ever since the show's first season in 1975, and as part of the 40th Anniversary Special, 'SNL' recognized the weekly news parody with a tribute led by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtin.

In what was one of the absolute highlights of the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler teamed up for a self-referential digital short about all the times the actors on the show have broken character by cracking up.

In between all of the tributes and montages and musical performances, the SNL 40th Anniversary Special actually found time for some original content. Right after a montage celebrating the short films that have been featured on the show over the years, Zach Galifianakis took to the stage to introduce a new digital short from Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler. Unlike most of Samberg’s original shorts, which usually traded in genial silliness, this one looked inward and examined a subject that everyone who has ever been on the show should be familiar with: breaking character.

A few key members of the SNL cast and crew must love “The Californians” because the much-derided sketch was brought back to life for the show’s star-studded 40th anniversary special. For those of us who have always enjoyed this bizarre sketch (and there are about three of us), it’s a welcome return and we will greedily drink up the angry tears of everyone else.

The dust has barely settled from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and already we’ve got a look at the lineup for the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival. After an initial announcement that included opening night film ‘Brand,’ about comedian Russell Brand,’ things have filled out really nicely with a ton of promising-sounding selections.

Besides a funny opening monologue, the 2015 Golden Globes were kinda...boring? Which is weird, because the Golden Globes are supposed to be a lot of things, but boring isn't one of them. Their entire existence is pretty much to be the boozy, irreverent cousin to the Oscars. But, next year hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler won't be back to host (their three-year contract ended this year) and based on this awards presentation, we think they should give Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader a chance.

The unfortunate and untimely death of the great Jan Hooks this past week sent the comedy world into mourning, with countless writers and comics stepping forward to pay tribute to the late 'SNL' star. It could have been easy for this week's new episode to gloss over the passing of one of their own (it is a comedy show, after all), but 'SNL' has always been a slightly class institution -- it remembers those who came before.

Although 'SNL' previously parodied all the movie adaptations of the most obscure young-adult novels, all past sketches have nothing on 'The Group Hopper.' It's one thing to dress the cast in 'Hunger Games' outfits and make fun of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world. It's another thing altogether to create a fake movie trailer for a fake new franchise and make it seem strangely plausible while eviscerating every movie of this kind out there.

When it was announced that the great Bill Hader would be returning to 'SNL' to host this week's episode, everyone crossed their fingers and hoped for one thing: the glorious return of Stefon. And lo and behold, the comedy gods answered and the greatest character in modern 'Saturday Night Live' graced 'Weekend Update' yet again.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is not afraid to show off his glistening abs. If you have 'em, flaunt 'em, right? He did it a lot in the recent 'Hercules' movie and in Michael Bay's 'Pain & Gain,' and he's about to break out those puppies once again (and, probably, for a lot longer) in Paramount's upcoming 'Baywatch' movie.

Early reports on 'SNL' season 40's inaugural three hosts pegged 'Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt and comedian Sarah Silverman, though it seems reports of series alum Bill Murray were only half-right. 'SNL' has indeed tapped a legendary departed cast member for its third season 40 host, that of more recent alumni Bill Hader!