John Mulaney's Biggest SNL Musical Yet Turns Adam Driver Into A Hot Dog

Nobody was surprised (probably) when the massive, star-studded episode of "Saturday Night Live" celebrating the show's 50th anniversary mostly leaned on old standby sketches and concepts. There were some exceptions — including a perfect new Digital Short about how everybody who's ever worked at "SNL" has both anxiety and IBS — but it's ultimately not shocking that the episode featured yet another musical ode to New York City's most disgusting aspects centered around John Mulaney.

From the man who brought you "Diner Lobster," "Airport Sushi," and "Port Authority Duane Reade," among others, we got "New York 50th Musical," and it's safe to say that Oscar nominee Adam Driver would only don a hot dog costume for something this great. After David Spade and Pete Davidson, the latter of whom note that they're "the same age" and just moved to New York in 1975 from the same small town, visit Mulaney's all-knowing hot dog vendor in Times Square, they place the same order: a hot dog with heroin. (This is the only item on the menu, to be clear.) That's when Maya Rudolph, dressed as a heroin needle, is joined by Driver in a hot dog costume as they sing "Shame" (to the tune of "Fame"), talking about how New York mostly smells like trash and urine and is "going to hell." Honestly, it's awesome. Driver is, if nothing else, a guy who's willing to shamelessly commit to a bit, and he's perfectly utilized here as a hot dog covered in illegal substances (and also mustard).

This was by far the biggest and most ambitious New York-centered musical that John Mulaney and the "Saturday Night Live" team have ever attempted, and it was totally worth it. After Maya Rudolph and Adam Driver took center stage, Mulaney escorted David Spade and Pete Davidson to the 1980s, where they met up with Nathan Lane (who performed an ode to cocaine and vodka that sounded suspiciously like "Hakuna Matata," the song he sang alongside Ernest Sabella's warthog Pumbaa in "The Lion King"). From there, it was an ode to New York's increasingly bizarre mayors, including a return of Kate McKinnon's pitch perfect Rudy Giuliani — who, as he sang alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, is "throwing away [his] shot."

Also, Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte sang a garbled rendition of "Look Down" from "Les Misérables" in the audience — over the literal, actual heads of Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner — before Kristen Wiig joined the party as the green M&M. Elsewhere, Scarlett Johansson performed "Suddenly E-Bikes," a song about the new menace haunting the streets of New York, set to "Suddenly Seymour" from "Little Shop of Horrors" and complete with an Audrey costume. (Mulaney asked if her husband, current "SNL" cast member Colin Jost, was the reason for her black eye; Johansson confirmed that it wasn't him this time.) With one last return of Kenan Thompson's iconic Diner Lobster, everyone came back onstage for the final number, "One Day More" (also from "Les Misérables). Sure, "SNL 50" didn't necessarily break any new ground, but thanks to sketches like these, it didn't really need to.

"SNL 50" is streaming on Peacock now.