The best of Sabrina Carpenter’s episode (Oct. 18, 2025)

Sabrina Carpenter pulled double duty on the Oct. 18 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” serving as both host and musical guest.

SNL recap: Sabrina Carpenter served as the host and musical guest on the October 18 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” Rosalind O’Connor/NBC

By Kevin Slane

October 19, 2025 | 10:25 AM

2 minutes to read

“SNL” returned to the air for the third episode of its 51st season on Saturday, Oct. 18, with pop star Sabrina Carpenter pulling double duty as both host and musical guest.

Just like season premiere host Bad Bunny, Carpenter has quickly entered the “SNL” circle of trust as both a reliable utility player and an envoy to a younger generation.

Not only was Carpenter given the opening musical number (alongside Paul Simon) at the “SNL50” anniversary show, she popped up in a sketch during the special, served as the musical guest for the Season 49 finale, and made a cameo appearance in May alongside host (and fellow short celeb) Quinta Brunson.

Saturday’s episode was structured a little differently than most, perhaps in part because the start of the show was delayed by 12 minutes due to a late-running college football game.

Rather than begin with a political cold open, the show brought back its most popular recurring sketch, Domingo — which is based around a parody of Carpenter’s song “Espresso.”

Those who were hoping to see Bowen Yang reprise his impression of recently pardoned former Congressman George Santos were left disappointed; Yang was not in Studio 8H for the show, instead accepting an award in Los Angeles.

Check out the videos below to see highlights from Sabrina Carpenter’s episode of “SNL,” including Carpenter’s opening monologue, a higher-than-normal number of musical sketches, and all of the guests visiting the “Weekend Update” desk.