By Neal Justin, The Minnesota Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS — “Saturday Night Live” almost had another Minnesota moment.
New cast member Tommy Brennan, who grew up in St. Paul, had prepared a personal monologue for the Jan. 17 episode, which marked the show’s return from the holiday break.
But the nearly four-minute piece was cut between dress rehearsal and the live broadcast. That’s not unusual; producer and show creator Lorne Michaels often eliminates sketches at the last minute because of time.
NBC did make the clip available online on Jan. 20. In it, Brennan joins the “Weekend Update” desk to share his thoughts.
“I know no one is dying for a hot take on this from a guy who looks like he was homeschooled on a yacht,” said the comedian, who was wearing a long-sleeved Wolves shirt. “But it would be insane to ignore what’s happening in my hometown right now.”
He then dissected footage of an ICE agent slipping on the ice, showing it over and over again. “I’m not reveling in another person’s pain,” he said. ”If I wanted to do that, I would join ICE.“
He then shifted into a more sincere tribute to his fellow Minnesotans.
“Minneapolis is a city of immigrants and that’s what makes it great,” he said. “I grew up playing on all-immigrant soccer teams, and let me tell you, it is not easy to catch those guys.”
It’s not the first time Brennan has visited the “Weekend Update” desk.
In October, he did a piece on adjusting from Midwestern life to New York City. Like most cast members in their rookie year, Brennan hasn’t had many spotlight moments. But he and fellow newcomer Veronika Slowikowska have apparently taken over audience preshow warmup duties from Kenan Thompson.
They’ve been singing Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.”
“SNL” has a new episode scheduled for 11:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 24 with host Alexander Skarsgård and musical guest Cardi B.
©2026 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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