Dan, 37, kicked off the show with a tour of Studio 8H, during which he highlighted the COVID-19 safety protocols in place. The Schitt’s Creek star showcased social distancing monitors, sanitizer sprayers and his dad — found trapped in a guarded plexiglass case.

“I flew in to wish you luck tonight, but because I traveled, I’m now in this tight isolation box,” Eugene, 74, revealed.

Dan responded, “You flew all this way just to watch the show from a weird box?”

The American Pie actor assured his son, “I didn’t know about the box at the time. I found out when I landed. Listen, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. OK? You’ve got enough on your plate tonight.”

Dan hosted the sketch comedy series 35 years after his father nearly did, according to the Huffington Post. Eugene was set to cohost alongside John Candy in 1985, but the episode was pulled because of a writer’s strike.

Before giving his studio tour, Dan delivered a monologue from Saturday Night Live‘s main stage about the “good and not-so good” he faced in the last year, including Schitt’s Creek‘s rise in popularity and more.

“People finally started watching our show, Schitt’s Creek, and we were fortunate enough to win nine Emmys,” he said. “The not-so good was those Emmys were literally thrown at us by a stranger in a hazmat suit.”

The actor continued: “The good: I have been getting stopped on the street by different kinds of people. Which is new and fun and different. The not-so good, those people are mainly screaming ‘Eww’ at me. Which was a line I wrote for the show that will now haunt me for the rest of my life.”

When the episode wrapped, Dan reflected on the moment in a tweet. He shared the closing moments — originally tweeted by the Saturday Night Live Twitter account — adding, “Words can’t even express…”

Ahead of Dan’s Saturday Night Live hosting debut, his mom, Deborah Divine, gushed about the big moment on social media.

“This goes out to the bully punks at Camp WTF who made life miserable for a certain cabin-mate back in the summer of ’96 — just because he was different,” she tweeted. “Well, after all these years I have just 7 words to say to you: ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!'”

Dan retweeted the message, adding “Moms. ❤️”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Caitlyn Hitt