WATCH: MSNBC’s Katy Tur Interviews Remains of Chinese Spy Balloon in Hot Off The Presses SNL Cold Open

Saturday Night Live kicked off the 12th episode of the new season by lampooning the spy balloon from China that was shot down just hours earlier under orders from President Joe Biden.

Pedro Pascal was the guest host on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live. Coldplay was the musical guest. Variety reported on Pascal’s hosting gig, noting “This will mark the “SNL” debut for Pascal, who is currently leading “The Last of Us,” HBO’s adaptation of the PlayStation video games of the same name, which premiered on Jan. 15 and has already broken multiple viewership records.”

The actor is also known for roles in the HBO hit Game of Thrones, the Netflix series Narcos, and the current Disney+ hit The Mandalorian.

As for the musical guest, Variety also notes:

The Feb 4 episode will be Coldplay’s seventh time serving as the “Saturday Night Live” musical guest. Led by Chris Martin, the band first rose to prominence in 2000 with their album “Parachutes,” which included the single “Yellow.” Also among Coldplay’s nine albums are “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends,” Mylo Xyloto” and “Music of the Spheres,” with best-known songs including “Vida la Vida,” “The Scientist,” “Clocks” and more. Coldplay is currently performing its “Music Of The Spheres” world tour.

But before Pascal could begin his hosting stint, the cast of the long-running sketch show performed its 937th cold open, a long-running gag in which the show performs a parody — usually related to current events — that ends with performers breaking character and exclaiming “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

The very first cold open — on October 11, 1975 — lasted only 96 seconds and featured Chevy Chase uttering the catchphrase as a confused production assistant on a new show that was then called simply NBC’s Saturday Night. Early cold opens — colds open? — featured Chase performing a pratfall, often in character as then-President Gerald Ford.

It has evolved into an often elaborate and anticipated part of the show that can run closer to ten minutes, and almost always parody current events. Although often uneven in quality and a magnet for jabs from critics, the cold open is also often the most talked-about part of the show.

This week’s cold open featured a parody of MSNBC Live with Katy Tur reporting on the spy balloon, which included an interview with the remains of the balloon.

Watch above via NBC’s Saturday Night Live.