Gorillaz will make their Saturday Night Live debut as musical guests this weekend, with Ryan Gosling hosting. Promotional videos showcase playful interactions involving the band's creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The appearance promotes Gorillaz's new album and Gosling's upcoming film.
Saturday Night Live's latest promos highlight the excitement surrounding Gorillaz's first appearance as musical guests, alongside host Ryan Gosling. In one video, cast member Ashley Padilla expresses surprise at the band's absence from the show in the past.
“Gorillaz! You’re one of the best bands ever, and you’ve never been the musical guest?” Padilla asks in disbelief. “How are you feeling?”
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the creators behind Gorillaz, respond by painting big smiles on their faces, crouching down, and wiggling their fingers without speaking. When Padilla turns to Gosling for an explanation, he whispers, “It’s a secret,” prompting her to pout and say, “No one tells me anything!”
Another segment reveals Padilla's candid admissions: she watched scenes from The Notebook on her phone while viewing Gosling's new movie Project Hail Mary, and she placed illegal bets on her own promo behavior.
Gorillaz is using the episode to promote their ninth album, The Mountain, released recently. The band has announced their first North American tour in four years, starting September 17 in Orlando, Florida, and concluding on Halloween in Seattle.
This marks Gosling's fourth time hosting SNL, despite a prior promo where he jokingly claimed it as his fifth. He is promoting Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi film adaptation of the 2021 novel by the same name.
The episode airs at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and streams on Peacock.
