Louis C.K. hosts 'Saturday Night Live,' post-Sandy

NBC

Louis C.K.'s hosting debut, plus a cast and crew that's had a week to rest and recharge, plus a wealth of great material courtesy of the rapidly winding-down election and Hurricane Sandy? Tonight's SNL might just be a perfect storm of comedy — as long as it successfully marries C.K.'s pitch-black, cringe-y sensibility with the sketch show's broader tone.

Louis himself didn't seem too confident when he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this week. (Then again, when does Louis ever seem confident?) He told the SNL vet that during a laugh-free table read, he worried that Lorne Michaels would decide to cancel the show and simply blame it on the hurricane.

Luckily, things eventually turned around and C.K. said he finished the table read strong — so the show probably won't be a disaster after all. Especially since we've got this to look forward to: "There's one sketch that I'm in that I really hate, because what I'm doing in it is really embarrassing," C.K. told Fallon. "When I think about this one sketch, I go, 'Oh God, It's going to be awful.' I get a little dizzy and ill. But I told them, 'Please leave this one in. Please don't cut this sketch, because I hate it.'" I think I just got goosebumps.

While the anthemic, energetic band fun. doesn't seem like a natural match for Louis, the comedian and the group do sort of have one thing in common: Lena Dunham. She's a comic auteur who's been hailed as the younger, female version of Louis C.K., and she admires her idol so much that she dressed up like him for Halloween one year. Reportedly, Dunham is also dating fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff. Does this mean that the Girls creator might make a cameo during tonight's show? It's about as likely as C.K. looking surly during a sketch where he's forced to wear a costume.

Check out this clip of Louis teasing tonight's SNL on Late Night, then discuss the show itself — before and as it airs — in the comments. And after enjoying an extra hour of sleep, don't forget to come back tomorrow morning for a full recap.

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