Saturday Night Live: Adam Sandler Makes Surprise Appearance in Chris Rock Episode

Saturday Night Live alum Adam Sandler made a surprise cameo on the show this weekend while his friend Chris Rock was hosting. The two appeared together in a sketch called “Gallbladder Surgery,” which seemed to face some technical difficulties with the props. Judging by the audience response, the issues only made it funnier.

The sketch starred Rock as a surgeon working with a subpar staff. Sarah Sherman played the incompetent but needy nurse Lizley, whose mistakes made the operation a huge failure. While she seemed to be the wildcard in this set-up, she took a backseat about halfway through the sketch when the patient sat up, revealing himself to be Sandler. Still bleeding and on the verge of death, Sandler lectured the staff about how they were treating each other and shared some hard truths about their roles in the operating room.

The issues came at around the 2 minute, 45 second mark, when Sandler apparently dropped the tube he was using to spray fake blood all over the other actors. He needed Sherman’s help to pick it up, and in the process he sprayed blood all over her face. He then pulled off the pre-planned joke of spraying fake blood all over the doctors and nurses and the rest of the set.

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Sandler and Rock took all this in stride as veterans of SNL. Both were in the show’s cast back in the 1990s, so it makes sense that they did this nostalgic sketch together this season while SNL is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In fact, Sandler even cracked some meta jokes to the younger cast members, telling Emil Wakim: “Not sure what your role in this skit is, but so happy you’re getting airtime. Good luck. Hope your parents are proud of you.”

The show has been leaning heavily into nostalgia this season with cameos by other alumni. Dana Carvey has made several appearances, and last week he reprised his role as “The Church Lady.” David Spade has also been on hand recently, while Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer have come back for a couple of Lonely Island-style pre-recorded sketches. Some fans have appreciated all these looks back, while others are wondering if it means that SNL‘s best days are behind it.

All in all, Rock’s turn as host this weekend got mixed reviews in the commentary online, but this cameo by Sandler was considered a highlight. Many of the sketches are available now on YouTube and social media, while the full episode is streaming on Peacock. SNL will be back next week with host Martin Short and musical guest Hozier.