Shane Gillis hosted Saturday Night Live on 11 October 2026, seven years after being fired from the show in 2019. His opening monologue prompted sharp reactions from viewers who called jokes about women demeaning toward women. Critics at Variety and Vulture described the monologue as a bomb.

A Dr. Seuss-inspired sketch during the episode featured an on-air mistake, and Gillis later said sorry for the slip. The Guardian said the night added to what it called a run of underwhelming episodes for the season.