Former basketball star Charles Barkley comes back (after a 17-year gap) to host the first new episode of 2010; Alicia Keys (who last appeared on the first episode of season 27 with host Reese Witherspoon) comes back to perform "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" and "Empire State of Mind."

Sketches include "The Situation Room," "Thomas Peepers Insurance," "Reel Quotes," "MacGruber" (three-part sketch), "Shana at the Ski Retreat," "Inside the NBA," "Weekend Update" with James Carville, Nicolas Cage, and Governor David Paterson, "The Haney Project," "Digital Short: Alicia Keys' Booty Call," "Scared Straight," and "Barkley's Bank."