Joining Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a first-time host this past weekend, No Time to Die's Rami Malek got the chance to participate in a countrified Squid Game alongside comedian Pete Davidson.
SNL's country music parody, entitled "Squid Game," sees down-on-their-luck country stars Malek and Davidson making their way to the South Korean death games as a last-ditch effort to restore their financial ruin. The catchy pre-recorded musical sketch references the key moments and iconography that contributed to Squid Game's ascension to Netflix's top original series slot.
Not only did the SNL sketch reference the aesthetics, games and plot details of Squid Game, but it likewise used Malek and Davidson's country stars to comment on the way American audiences consumed the South Korean series. Among their complaints about the game's dire conditions, the country singers twang about not understanding their captures without subtitles and confusions about South Korea's currency conversion.
While Malek plays a nondescript country crooner in the song, Davidson appears to play a countrified version of himself. Davidson has built a reputation out of poking fun at himself on SNL, one that continues in "Squid Game," where he is referred to as Pete and is driven to return to the death games after betting his money on the NFL's Jets.
The fun at Davidson's expensive continued beyond SNL's Squid Game parody on Saturday, as the sketch "Celeb School Game Show" featured Malek and Davidson's impressions of one another. In the sketch, the pair note the comments they have received about looking alike, a point that SNL has used to its advantage in the past.
SNL's Squid Game song is emblematic of the comedic institution's trend toward parodying a popular television show by mashing it together with another concept to weave a novel satirical narrative. Back in 2016, Mr. Robot was given this SNL parody treatment, with Davidson starring as Malek's Elliot Alderson and attempting to help former cast member Leslie Jones resolve a personal hacking case.
Malek’s episode of Saturday Night Live is available to stream on both Hulu and Peacock, with new episodes of Season 47 airing live on NBC on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.
Source: YouTube