With the new Harry Potter series on the way on HBO, SNL sketched the controversial casting of Professor Snape in the series. In the new series, Paapa Essiedu has taken over the role once held by Alan Rickman. This is going to be a major switch. SNL joked about this “black Snape” in its latest sketch, even subtly calling out author J.K. Rowling, whose controversial views have been a point of discussion before.
SNL makes fun of new Harry Potter’s Snape casting
In the latest episode of SNL, the show dug into the decision to cast a black actor to play Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter series on HBO. Host Colin Jost welcomed “Black Snape (Kam Patterson)” to talk about the experience of teaching at Hogwarts for the year.
Snape started by doing an accent that he revealed was not how he actually speaks. Jost proceeded to ask how his year at Hogwarts was. Snape said, “Not great. We got this new kid.
His name’s Harry Potter. And he’s racist as hell.”
A surprised Jost asked, “Wait, Harry Potter is racist?”
“Yes, Harry Potter, or ‘The Proud Boy Who Lived,’ spent the whole year telling everybody that the school’s only Black teacher was secretly evil,” Snape said. Jost reasoned, “I think he’s just worried because he knows someone’s trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Snape responded, “So…somebody stole something…and the number-one suspect is Black Snape? He didn’t even look in the direction of the white guy in the turban. Show the picture! He’s got Wizard Hitler on the back of his head!”
Snape further joked, “I showed up to Hogwarts, and the first day, they looked at me and said, ‘You’re the professor of the dark arts.'”
Snape went on to speak about Kingsley Shacklebolt being the only other black character. Moreover, he mentioned how his name sounded like it was generated from the Wu-Tang name generator. “Alright, yes, well, for the very first time, I’m starting to think that J.K. Rowling might be problematic,” Jost replied. This was a dig at the numerous past controversies that JK Rowling has faced over her views.
Harry Potter will premiere on HBO in the United States and globally on HBO Max on December 25, 2026.
