'SNL' Season 51 finale: Will Ferrell opens as Epstein while Paul McCartney closes out with third encore

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith made a surprise appearance during Ferrell's monologue alongside McCartney

Will Ferrell and Paul McCartney closed out Season 51 of Saturday Night Live with a finale that combined political satire, returning sketches and multiple live performances.

Ferrell returned to host the NBC comedy series for the first time since 2019, marking his sixth appearance as host. McCartney joined the episode as musical guest and later delivered a surprise encore performance during the show’s closing moments.

The episode opened with a political cold open featuring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump and Ferrell portraying Jeffrey Epstein. The sketch also included appearances from Jeremy Culhane as JD Vance, Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth and Aziz Ansari as Kash Patel.

Ferrell’s monologue featured a surprise appearance from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who jokingly pretended to be the host before McCartney joined the segment from the audience. During the exchange, McCartney referenced Ferrell’s resemblance to Smith before telling him, “Get your ass behind the drums, Chad!”

The show also revived several comedy sketches, including “Cast List 2”, which featured a cameo from former cast member Molly Shannon. Another segment, “What it Feels Like to Talk to a Mechanic”, included McCartney playing mechanic Nigel alongside Ferrell and Marcello Hernández.

McCartney performed “Days We Left Behind” from his album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, with Chad Smith on drums. Later in the programme, he returned to perform “Band on the Run”.

The finale concluded with an unscheduled third performance as McCartney performed “Coming Up” during the cast goodnights. The song originally premiered on Saturday Night Live in 1980.

The extended finale also featured the return of the popular “Weekend Update” joke swap segment, while cast members and guests celebrated the end of the show’s 51st season live on stage.