The actress, who won an Emmy for hosting in 2017, doesn’t plan to appear this season.
While Saturday Night Live has already seen Matt Damon appear as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, alum Rachel Dratch as Senator Amy Klobuchar and Alec Baldwin return with his Emmy-winning portrayal of President Donald Trump, don’t expect Melissa McCarthy to return to the show anytime soon.
Speaking with ET while promoting her new film, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the actress said she has “no plans to return” to the series either as former press secretary Sean Spicer, for which she earned critical acclaim and a 2017 Emmy for her portrayal, or as any other character at the moment.
“There’s always a place in my heart for SNL,” McCarthy said, adding: “I love that it’s back now, but I have no specific plan.”
While promoting a new film is often the perfect reason to appear on the show, McCarthy is currently not scheduled to make a sixth appearance as a host. Following Adam Driver, Awkwafina and Seth Meyers, only Jonah Hill has been confirmed to host -- the show’s fourth episode on Nov. 3. (SNL is on hiatus on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27.)
When it came to transforming into Spicer, McCarthy told Ellen DeGeneres it was all in the prosthetics. “The weirdest thing is that you mess with your ears and it really changes the shape of your head,” she explained. “And then I really got into it and asked, ‘Can I have eye bags?’ And the answer was, ‘Yes!’”
In his memoir, Spicer, who stepped down as press secretary in July 2017, revealed that he watched McCarthy's impersonation -- and had a laugh.
“Taking a deep breath, I went to the DVR and saw Melissa McCarthy wearing my suit, downing gum by the bucket (guilty as charged, but never at the lectern), and yelling at the media,” he wrote. “I had no choice but to laugh. Like many SNL sketches, I think they milked it too long, but there was no denying it was funny.”
In addition to her Emmy win in 2017, McCarthy has been nominated for every time she's hosted.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, in which McCarthy portrays author Lee Israel, who was caught forging letters of dead writers, is in theaters Friday, Oct. 19.
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