Saturday Night Live Is The Latest Fan Of Chopped To Poke Fun At Chopped

With just one episode now left in its 44th season, Saturday Night Live has spent a majority of the last few years swinging wildly between inconsistent social satire and an endearing absurdist streak that some die-hard fans (this writer included) wish the show would indulge more frequently.

This weekend, the show once again looked to the world of food competition shows and the promotional ads usually running during their breaks. It also got weird and just a little dumb with both concepts, which tends to be the sweet spot for this current group of writers and performers.

Announcing that SNL did a Chopped parody might inspire a few eye-rolls, given that just about everybody who watches Chopped also makes fun of Chopped with regularity and affection. But this week's take on the fast-edited "random ingredients" series turned goofy, quickly, and was all the better for it. It's probably telling that "loose sugar" is something we could absolutely see the show including in its mystery baskets one of these days.

Elsewhere, a "cut for time" ad for Twinings Extreme pitched a sports performance tea, featuring a "Sport Kettle" with an underside burner (that, honestly, we'd kind of love to own) and a solid cricket joke:

It might be an elder statesman of TV at this point, but at least Saturday Night Live has become a pleasant estranged relative. You only see them a handful of times a year, and usually fade in and out of knowing what's going on with them unless they end up on the news for some reason, but you're happy to see they're still doing okay whenever your paths cross.