Melissa McCarthy’s Hysterical SNL Cameo Is Her First Since 2018

Melissa McCarthy is an undeniable Saturday Night Live MVP. The five-time Host nabbed an Emmy nomination for her October 2011 debut, going on to earn four more noms for each of her subsequent returns and winning in 2017 (the same year she portrayed then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer). She’s killed on the Studio 8H stage many times over, but hadn’t been back since 2018 — until Martin Short’s December 21 Christmas episode, when she appeared in the cold open and two sketches. 

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When McCarthy showed up at the tail end of the “Parking Lot Altercation” sketch, her signature commitment to the role had the audience howling with laughter (cast member Chloe Fineman could barely keep it together herself). 

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Melissa McCarthy’s antics in SNL’s “Parking Lot Altercation” had Chloe Fineman breaking

In “Parking Lot Altercation,” Mikey Day and Chloe Fineman play a father and daughter on a last-minute Christmas shopping excursion. When they pull up to a mall parking space, they come head-to-head with another stressed out shopper (Martin Short). 

An epic pantomime-off ensues between the father and the other driver, as Day’s skills were matched by Short’s larger-than-life facial expressions and gestures (Fineman’s teen daughter character periodically interjects, offering obscene hand signals that deeply unsettle her dad). As the two go bigger and bigger, it’s hard to imagine what will up the ante — and that’s when Short’s character says his wife’s been in the car the whole time. 

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That would be Melissa McCarthy in an incredible wig, who arrives pounding on Fineman’s car window to scare the living daylights out of the family. McCarthy evokes an actual yelp from Fineman and screams of laughter from the audience as she ace performer does the unexpected: Taking a pull from a chocolate milkshake, she spits it on the window before using her chest to smearing it around. 

Hats off to Fineman, who (barely) maintains her composure as McCarthy maintains intense eye contact through the glass. Watch SNL‘s “Parking Lot Altercation” sketch above.

Martin Short’s sketch was a sequel to Quinta Brunson’s “Traffic Altercation” 

Quinta Brunson’s Season 48 episode — which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series included the also-excellent sketch “Traffic Altercation,” which first introduced Day and Fineman’s characters. As this behind-the-scenes video reveals, the bit got big laughs even at the initial table read with the cast and crew.

Watch “Traffic Altercation” below, and stream all 50 seasons of SNL on Peacock anytime.