Bowen Yang and The 1975 Have No Idea What Jenna Ortega Is Talking About in ‘SNL’ Promo
Wednesday and Scream VI star Jenna Ortega is one of the hottest young actresses in the game. Which might explain why Saturday Night Live oldster Bowen Yang just can’t understand all her youthful wordplay in the latest promo for this weekend’s show.
After Ortega gives the basic rundown of the episode’s lineup — she’s hosting, The 1975 are the musical guest — a befuddled Yang is like, “what?,” clearly confused by all the millennial jargon she’s slanging at him. “I’m hosting SNL with musical guest The 1975,” the 20-year-old actress repeats as the band silently bracket her and Yang.
“I feel so old, I don’t understand any of your generation’s slang,” Yang, 33, complains. “Are you guys getting any of this?,” he asks the band, as shades-wearing singer Matty Healy mumbles, “none of it.”
In the second bit, Ortega flips her Wednesday character’s frown upside down and gives the camera some double espresso high school pep squad energy, which again totally confuses Yang. “What are you doing?” he wonders as Ortega shakes her shoulders and smiles brightly.
“I’m being upbeat, you know I don’t want people to think I’m like my character Wednesday,” she explains. “Well, cool it, you’re freaking people out!,” Yang admonishes the star, asking the band if they too are wondering what is going on. “We’re freaked,” they all murmur half-heartedly.
They all hang around for a few more bits, which come on top of this week’s first ad, during which Ortega reluctantly did her viral Wednesday “Bloody Mary” dance one more time to please the Please Don’t Destroy guys, who came dressed in their finest Wednesday Addams cosplay.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams later on Peacock.
Check out Ortega’s SNL promo below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard