With the dearth of Black female voices on Saturday Night Live this season, could this be the right time for a Maya Rudolph return? The SNL alum has been starring as Molly Wells on her Apple TV+ series Loot, currently streaming its third season. As one of the richest women in the world, with billions upon billions, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if Molly showed up on the late-night sketch comedy series; she did, after all, buy several commercial spots during the Super Bowl to promote her non-profit foundation, Wells Foundation.
“I would love it. [Molly] would too,” Rudolph declared to EBONY over the thought of bringing her Loot character to her old stomping ground at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. “She’d be psyched, are you kidding me? Yeah, she’s a little ham.”
A Rudolph return, presumably as recurring guest host, would be a welcome addition. With the exit of Ego Nwodim from the company this past season, SNL is currently without a Black female comedic voice — and the opportunity to address issues that encompass the Black female experience. It would be great to see Rudolph reprise some of her best impressions, including her spot-on Beyoncé, which she’s done since her series regular days on SNL, or former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is reportedly toying with another run for president in 2028.
Until then, Rudolph’s been giving us a sneak peek into her Loot origin story. In the series’ November 5 episode, we saw how Molly and Nicholas, her faithful executive assistant, first met, and learned that you can’t put a price on friendships. It’s all part of Molly’s evolution over the past three seasons.
“I think Molly has really embraced her new life this season. She was forced in the first season to create a new life for herself [after her divorce], and she didn’t really know how she would feel about it. She didn’t even realize she had a foundation and had to ask herself the hard questions of what she wants to be,” Rudolph explained.
“Seeing her in this new environment, in this found family, you’ve really gotten to see her and get to know her through the relationships that she has developed. She doesn’t really feel that she is better than anyone else, despite her wealth. That’s the part of Molly that I enjoy the most.”
Loot airs Wednesdays on Apple TV+.