Ep 18. Chris Hemsworth/Zac Brown Band

Chris Hemsworth, the Australian actor known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, takes the stage as host for the 18th episode of Saturday Night Live's 40th season. Joining him is the Zac Brown Band, a Grammy Award-winning country music group from Georgia.

The show kicks off with a cold open featuring a parody of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," with SNL regular Darrell Hammond reprising his role as Bill O'Reilly. This is followed by Hemsworth's monologue, which includes a surprise appearance by his Avengers co-star, Scarlett Johansson.

The sketches in this episode range from a mock commercial for a new dating app called "Settl" (which encourages users to settle for less) to a parody of the popular TV show "Empire," featuring the return of former SNL cast member, Maya Rudolph. Other sketches include a spoof of a pharmaceutical commercial for a drug with absurd side effects and a parody of a TED Talk that goes horribly wrong.

Hemsworth's versatility as an actor is on full display in this episode, as he takes on a variety of characters, including a nerdy Shakespeare enthusiast, a hapless astronaut on a doomed space mission, and a male stripper named "Thundersnow."

The Zac Brown Band also makes appearances throughout the episode, performing their hit songs "Homegrown" and "Heavy Is the Head" (featuring Chris Cornell). They also join Hemsworth in a sketch where they play a group of bandmates who struggle to come up with a new hit song after their previous success.

The episode's Weekend Update segment features co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che delivering the latest news and commentary on current events, including the controversy surrounding Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the recent discovery of water on Mars. SNL regulars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones also make appearances as characters such as Russian woman Olya Povlatsky and "Black Annie."

The show's signature sketches, such as "Celebrity Family Feud" and "The Californians," also make appearances in this episode, providing some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Overall, the Chris Hemsworth/Zac Brown Band episode of Saturday Night Live's 40th season is a hilarious and entertaining installment that showcases the talents of the host and musical guests, as well as the writing and performing skills of the SNL cast.