Kate Hudson ‘Felt Very Lucky’ Hosting “SNL” 25 Years Ago amid ‘All-Star “SNL” Era’ and Because of Musical Guest (Exclusive)
“I got to do it with Radiohead, so I felt very lucky. As a young girl ... Radiohead was everything to me,” Hudson tells PEOPLE
“I got to do it with Radiohead, so I felt very lucky. As a young girl ... Radiohead was everything to me,” Hudson tells PEOPLE Jerod Harris/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Kate Hudson on Feb. 13, 2025:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Jeanie-Buss-and-Kate-Hudson-attend-Los-Angeles-Premiere-of-Netflixs-Running-Point-021425-tout-b47b72fc5fe547159b18420f1dda5af2.jpg "Jeanie Buss and Kate Hudson attend Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix's")
As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th anniversary, Kate Hudson is reflecting on being tapped to host an episode 25 years ago.
The Almost Famous actress and singer, 45, exclusively recalled to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of her new Netflix series Running Point why she “felt very lucky” hosting SNL in October 2000 when she was 21.
“Oh, it was so much fun, honestly, and I got to do it with Radiohead, so I felt very lucky,” Hudson explains. “As a young girl growing up, Radiohead was everything to me, and so that was really fun.” Paul Bergen/Redferns Thom Yorke of Radiohead in 2000
“It’s just a wild ride, you know? I love the cast [now], but I felt like I was in such an all-star SNL era of Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon and Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan,” she adds. “It was really just amazing. Seth Meyers was one of the writers. Yeah. It was great.”
Always one to give shout-outs to writers, Hudson also revealed on the Running Point red carpet that she hopped on the sports comedy project because of the respect she has for the “smart” writers and creators.
“Why this show? [Creator] Mindy Kaling. Loosely based on Jeanie Buss’ life story. Sports. I love sports,” Hudson says. ”Sort of playing a comedic version of the first woman to own and run a professional basketball team. Showrunners Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen? No brainer. Netflix. So much fun.” Unique Nicole/FilmMagic From left: Ike Barinholtz, Mindy Kaling, Kate Hudson and David Stassen at the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s ‘Running Point’ on Feb. 13, 2025
“For me, I’ve always wanted to do a series. The thing that I really loved was comedy, and we need to laugh,” she continues. “It’s the most healing thing in the world, and I love doing it, but I really, really only want to do it with people who are really smart that I trust. So, that’s why now, because it came to me with people that I just have so much respect for, as writers.”
In Running Point, Hudson plays Isla Gordon, who is appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, after a scandal forces her brother to resign.
“Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job,” reads Netflix’s synopsis of the show. “Running Point puts a bold twist on the underdog comedy.”
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The series also stars Brenda Song, Drew Tarver, Scott MacArthur, Fabrizio Guido, Toby Sandeman, Chet Hanks, Jay Ellis and Max Greenfield.
Running Point premieres on Feb. 27 on Netflix.
