Nate Bargatze can recall the precise moment—live from New York—that his career skyrocketed.

It was pal Jimmy Fallon who recommended the Nashville-based comic to serve as Saturday Night Live 's host in October 2023 as the rest of Hollywood was on strike. At that point, the 46-year-old—set to host the Emmys 2025 Sept. 14—had released five comedy specials, including his Grammy-nominated 2021 Netflix hour, The Greatest Average American .

"I’d just sold out the Oklahoma City Thunder arena that week," he recently reflected to The Hollywood Reporter , "but I didn’t go in, like, 'You should know who I am,' because why should they? I knew that that was a different audience, and that I had to murder."

And he slayed , Bargatze opening his monologue with his signature brand of s

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