Connor Storrie hosted Saturday Night Live — and he brought some friends from the ice along to help him out.
The Heated Rivalry star sparked the audience to cheers early on when he brought out Megan Keller and Hilary Knight — two members of the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team — during his opening monologue.
The athletes joined siblings Quinn and Jack Hughes from the men's Olympic hockey team onstage, all wearing their jerseys and gold medals. Knight joked that the original plan “was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys too."
This line referenced President Trump's congratulatory call to the men's team after their win about feeling compelled to invite the women's team to the State of the Union in addition to the men's. (The women did not go, citing scheduling conflicts — but Harrison Browne, another actor from Heated Rivalry and a former pro hockey player, slammed the men's team for their response to Trump's call.)
Notably, Keller and Knight professed their love of Heated Rivalry during the SNL opening monologue, while their male counterparts jokingly professed ignorance about the show's heated queer content.
The Olympians were not the only puck-yeah surprise for viewers. Hudson Williams — Storrie's costar on Heated Rivalry, Crave/HBO Max's hit queer romance between hockey rivals — skated into a sketch about a marriage proposal near the rink at Rockefeller Center. In it, a group of guys, among them Williams and Storrie, have so much fun skating that it compels a character played by cast member Tommy Brennan to put his own proposal on ice to join them.
In addition to surprise guests, SNL proved to be a great showcase for Storrie, who, as promised in an earlier teaser, made good on his accent work. He mocks the verbal ticks of a teacher in "Mr. Franzi," has fun with a British accent and glove-smacking in "The Gentleman's Code," and plays an injured (but dedicated) Vegas stripper in "Stripper."
SNL was also unafraid to get political. In addition to an opening monologue blasting the Trump administration's attacks on Iran, the show took on the BAFTAs incident where a man with Tourette syndrome made headlines for shouting racial slurs during the ceremony.
One sketch proposed that Tourette's might be a convenient excuse for other public figures — like Mel Gibson, former Real Housewives star Jill Zarin, and Bill Cosby — to cover their own controversies. Storrie played Armie Hammer, who declared, "One of the most common side effects of Tourette's is cannibalism," such as when one is texting with a love interest and saying, "I'm literally going to eat you."
Storrie and Williams — as well as fellow Heated Rivalry stars François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. — have shot to stardom following the runaway success of Heated Rivalry. The actors have been Olympic torch bearers and darlings of fashion week and the awards circuit. Previously, Storrie and Williams presented at the Golden Globes.
The full Saturday Night Live episode featuring Storrie as well as musical guests Mumford & Sons can be streamed on Peacock.
