Pete Davidson declares himself host, shows off “Kenan face” in SNL promo

By now, we all know that Davidson is hosting the season premiere of SNL with Ice Spice as the musical guest. But in the promo, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang return to studio 8H from a summer of meeting their birth mother and watching Suits, respectively, to discover Pete Davidson doing what he does best: Slacking off and eating chips. Squatting in the studio—which was his home for eight seasons—during an apartment renovation, Davidson learns, perhaps too late, that the set is closed to anyone who isn’t a host or cast member. Davidson declares himself host, and the rest is history. Presumably, this is how he got Bupkis, too.

But the real standout of the spot is Davidson’s perfectly honed “Kenan face.” With his neck pulled back, his chin pushed to the right, and a wry smile that asks, “Ain’t I a stinker?” Davidson reveals a new side of his comedic persona: The impressionist. Sure, we’ve seen, and likely will see, his recurring characters, such as Chad and Weekend Update’s Pete Davidson, but a Kenan Thompson impression? We’ve underestimated the comedian. However, we should note that his Adam Sandler is pretty good, too, leading us to believe he’s best utilized when impersonating SNL legends.

Saturday Night Live returns on Saturday.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Kenan Thompson’s name “Keenan.” We regret the error.