Kevin Hart

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? No, no, not the one with the footballs and Gatorade and stuff, the one with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart and Jimmy Fallon and the most eye-popping, gut-busting lip sync battle ever? That's the only "big game" we need.

Kevin Hart may have spent the past few years becoming one of the biggest movie and comedy stars in America, but last night’s ‘SNL’ proved that the ‘Ride Along’ and ‘The Wedding Ringer’ star is entirely unafraid to make fun of himself. Hart made for a strong guest host, capable of playing variations on himself and new characters quite well. However, one sketch made direct fun of his public image and personality and he went right along with it.

Sometimes, you watch an ‘SNL’ sketch and can’t help but wonder how it managed to escape the writer’s room and survive dress rehearsal and actually make it into the final show. This scene, a medieval musical about a kingdom ravaged by a fire-breathing dragon, is such a scene.

‘SNL’ returns from winter break with comedian Kevin Hart (and musical guest Sia, who’s an event all her own), and it definitely doesn’t feel like they’ve taken a break at all. There’s very little readjustment, and Hart brings an energy to the show that certainly helps keep this solid season going strong. So how was this weekend’s new episode? Read on for a ranking of the ‘SNL’ sketches from best to worst.

The ‘SNL’ digital shorts may have begun as scrappy little projects fueled by random jokes and silliness, but recent years have seen them evolve into so much more. When they’re at their best, they play more like little short films that feel like complete entities. When they’re at their absolute best, they make you forget that you’re watching a 40 year-old comedy sketch show in the first place. Last night’s digital short felt more, alive, funny, and complete than just about any actual “live” sketch.

This segment of 'The Tonight Show' kind of sells itself -- it's host Jimmy Fallon, guest Kevin Hart, and a pair of admirably large fake hands. Does it also involve a card game? We don't know, because we were distracted by those large fake hands.

To be clear, this is not the trailer for ‘Die Hard.’ Or ‘Spy Hard.’ Or ‘Drive Hard.’ Or ‘Walk Hard’ (although that’s closer). No, this is the trailer for ‘Get Hard.’ Good, glad we cleared that up.

‘SNL’ kicks off the road to its 40th anniversary special with the 2015 premiere this weekend, returning ‘The Wedding Ringer’ star Kevin Hart to the stage with musical guest Sia. There’s much to catch up on from the break, so recount Kevin and Aidy Bryant’s New Year’s resolutions with our first official ‘SNL’ promo of 2015!

‘SNL’ closed out 2014 with Amy Adams’ moderate follow-up to season 40 breakout Martin Freeman, simultaneously announcing ‘Get Hard’ star Kevin Hart as the first host of 2015. Now, the NBC sketch comedy has announced Hart’s musical accompaniment for January 17, slotting ‘The Voice’ coach Blake Shelton for some surprising double-duty the following week.

One of the more puzzling bits of marketing is the addition of featuring quotes from Twitter users who have seen an upcoming film at a sneak preview screening—it's an approach heavily relied upon in the new red band trailer for 'The Wedding Ringer,' the Josh Gad and Kevin Hart bromance buddy comedy. The red band element should be enough of a gimmick to enhance the odd couple shenanigans of Gad and Hart, but the studio is really pushing this whole "random Twitter user expresses profane excitement for this film!" schtick.