Jane Lynch to host Oct. 9 SNL, but who will host the season premiere?

I was excited to learn yesterday that Glee star Jane Lynch will host the Oct. 9 episode of Saturday Night Live. It's always a treat when SNL gets hosts who are competent in the world of physical comedy, and I have a feeling that the seemingly fearless Jane will fit in quite well. She's more than proven her worth with films such as the 40 Year-Old-Virgin and Role Models, and so it'll be great to see her be someone other than Sue Sylvester for the evening.

However, even with this announcement, it still leaves the spot open for who will host the season 36 premiere episode. It's rarely the highest-rated episode of SNL, but it's still a pretty big deal, since the season premiere can often set the pace for the tone of the rest of the season. It's quite the honor to host any time, but on such a noteworthy time as the season premiere, that's something.

Unfortunately, lately, SNL has gone for a host of this episode for their notoriety rather than comedic ability. Steve Carell hosted the season 31 premiere in 2005, and he was a perfect fit. Not only was he a high-profile star at the time (the 40-Year-Old Virgin was released a month prior), but he was actually funny on the show. After that, things went downhill.

In 2006, Dane Cook hosted the season 32 premiere. I personally cannot stand Dane, but I think even fans would be hard pressed to disagree that his stand up storytelling just did not translate well onto the SNL stage. It was an awful fit, and his extreme smugness was too much to bear. I am a huge fan of the musical guest that evening, the Killers, so sitting through that show to watch them? It was painful.

Seasons 33 and 34, SNL made the same mistake of tapping sports superstars to host, with Cleveland's Public Enemy #1 in 2007, and Michael Phelps in 2008. LeBron James wasn't too terrible (the image of him from the Solid Gold sketch still makes me laugh), but he wasn't great, either. As for Michael? He was far too awkward and worthless. These episodes proved that you can't just assume people who are charismatic in one field would do well at Studio 8H.

In 2009, Transformers star Megan Fox hosted. I will give her the benefit of the doubt because the writing for the episode was lackluster. However, she did not bring anything to the table, which, as a host like Jon Hamm proves, is very possible.

SNL ends up leaving a negative impression in peoples' minds right from the season's start, and it doesn't have to be that way.

Can I put in a couple of suggestions to Lorne Michaels? Will Arnett, the husband of one of SNL's finest, Amy Poehler, will begin a new show on Fox, Running Wilde, this fall. It's a rival network, sure, but I think he could deliver. (Side note, congratulations to Will and Amy on the birth of their second child, Abel James!) I'd recommend his co-star on the show, Keri Russell, but I don't know how strong she'd be on a format like SNL (we don't want a repeat of the January Jones fiasco). Joel McHale is a network in-house talent as well, and a hosting gig would be great publicity for the ratings-challenged Community. It's always baffled me that Stephen Colbert and John Krasinski haven't hosted, so I would love if Lorne considered them.

One suggestion I find amusing is the one on Facebook, which is to have Conan O'Brien host. This will NEVER happen, but wow, it would be fantastic if it did. To be honest, it would be genius. The ad revenue for that show would be through the roof, so NBC could still profit off of him even after all of the drama. Per his contract with NBC, he could legally host a show as of Sept. 1, and SNL does not premiere until Sept. 25, so it's possible, but not probable. He was funny when he hosted in 2001, and I'm sure the writing staff would work extra hard to make his show great.

Who are some other potential knockout hosts for SNL? Looking to defend any recent hosts? Leave a comment!