Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza Reprise ‘Parks & Rec’ Roles

Reunited and it feels so good! As Aubrey Plaza hosted Saturday Night Live for the primary time, she had a VIP visitor assist present her the ropes: Amy Poehler.

“On every tour people would ask the same question, ‘Are we going to see a celebrity?’” Plaza, 38, quipped on Saturday, January 21, whereas recalling her reminiscences within the NBC Page program, the place she would present vacationers across the community constructing. “No, you’re going to see an old security guy eating a sandwich or a writer crying because a sketch got cut.’ Famous people don’t just —!”

As the Little Hours actress walked by way of the 30 Rock set — in a Page blazer — she almost bumped into Poehler, 51. “Hi, Aubrey,” the Baby Mama actress exclaimed, giving her former Parks and Recreation costar a hug. “Oh my God, look at you!”

Poehler added: “So, Aubrey, I see that you’re wearing your Page jacket. Are you drinking again? … Aubrey, it’s not nice to call people old!”

The White Lotus star — who helmed the primary SNL episode of 2023, alongside musical visitor Sam Smith — was even in a position to persuade Poehler to affix her for a sketch. The two ladies, who performed Leslie Knope and April Ludgate on Parks and Rec, respectively, later reprised their sitcom roles throughout a “Weekend Update” phase.

“Local governments are having trouble hiring new employees, here to encourage young people to get involved in local government is a longtime employee of the city of Pawnee, Indiana,” SNL star Colin Jost mentioned, introducing their two characters to the “Update” desk.

Plaza, for her half, wore April’s signature hoodie and a wig along with her signature fringe bangs. “Everybody should get involved where they live, if you’re young you should get a job as a garbage man or something,” she advised Jost, 40, along with her trademark deadpan, earlier than itemizing different jobs the place folks might do the “bare minimum” and nonetheless “do your part.”

While Plaza was “annoyed” to reply the New York native’s questions, she directed additional inquiries to her “old boss” Leslie Knope (Poehler).

“Look at this! Who knew there were cameras at SNL!” Poehler — who used to helm “Weekend Update” alongside Seth Meyers — joked in character. “So, how much fun is it working here? … I want to pick your brain about this job, about this show because I used to watch this when Seth Meyers did it by himself with no one else and he made it look really easy.”

The Sisters star even swapped locations with Jost to “try” and browse off one among his subsequent jokes, nonetheless, she had difficulties discovering one which wasn’t “too mean.”

Plaza’s Saturday look marked her SNL internet hosting debut — which additionally included a spoof of The White Lotus — that she referred to as a “dream come true” in her monologue.

Saturday wasn’t the Golden Globe nominee’s first time on the 30 Rock stage. Plaza as soon as bombed an early audition to affix the solid of ensemble gamers.

“I didn’t make it to the Lorne [Michaels] audition, the famous final audition, but I did a preliminary first-round showcase,” the Delaware native recalled throughout a Tuesday, January 17, look on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “I remember one character I did was like a Puerto Rican news reporter that was always trying to make all of the news stories sexy, even if they were horrific news stories. I was just trying to like, sex up the news or something.”

Plaza additionally hoped her “pill-popping housewife” character could be a success with the present executives — to no avail. While neither of the Ingrid Goes West star’s characters propelled her sufficient to land a coveted solid member gig, she did earn an internship within the design division in 2004.

“They loved me because I did not care about set design at all, and they wanted an intern that had no interest in learning what they did,” she recalled to Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, noting she often spent her time “lurking in the shadows” across the solid. “I was just, like, creepy. Like, I was a creepy stalker. Now I’m gonna host it, so my master plan worked!”

While the Emily the Criminal star — who quietly married Jeff Baena in May 2021 — might not have gotten to affix SNL as a solid member, she finally landed the position of April on Parks and Rec, which aired on NBC. The present finally wrapped in 2015, and the actress went on to guide a gradual stream of comedic movies. She later returned to TV final yr, touchdown the position of Harper on HBO Max’s The White Lotus.

“It was incredible. We were shooting in Sicily for four months, living in a luxury hotel and staying in this gorgeous town,” Plaza gushed to Deadline in November 2022 of becoming a member of Mike White’s anthology collection. “You walk outside and look at the ocean from these cliffs. It’s breathtaking. And you’ve got the backdrop of Mt. Etna volcano that can erupt at any second. Damn, that just kind of infuses the whole scene with this wild energy.”

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.

For extra, watch the clip above!