Last weekend, Saturday Night Live rang in its 50th season in dazzling style. With the great Jean Smart aboard as host and Jelly Roll as the musical guest, the star-studded show featured cameos from Jim Gaffigan and Smart’s Hacks co-star Hannah Einbinder (whose mother, Laraine Newman, happened to be part of SNL’s original cast), as well as SNL alums Dana Carvey, Maya Rudolph, and Andy Samberg. This week, cast member Chloe Fineman joined The Run-Through to chat with Chloe Malle and Vogue’s Hannah Jackson about that momentous anniversary episode.
Fineman tried out several new characters over the course of night, including a Santa Fe Real Housewife, CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins, and I Love Lucy’s Ethel Merz, but surprisingly, it was her impression of Hailey Welsh—better known as the “Hawk Twah girl”—that required the most nuanced performance. “I’ve never gotten so many notes as about how to ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that ‘thang,’” she shared. “I don’t really get notes that much, but there’s something about how invested we were!” Fineman also dug into her back catalog of impressions, discussing how excited she is to play Melania Trump again, the story behind her take on JoJo Siwa, and the secret to fully embodying her parts (joy!).