Who is Nate Bargatze? Get to know the next ‘SNL’ host

NBC released a promo ahead of this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” episode featuring host Nate Bargatze and musical guest the Foo Fighters.

The promo features Bargatze between Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and cast member Marcello Hernandez. Band members Rami Jaffee, Josh Freese, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett also appear — though without any lines.

Bargatze, 44, is hosting the Oct. 28 show. It’s his first stint as “SNL” host, while the Foo Fighters will be making their ninth appearance. Bargatze called the opportunity “beyond a dream come true.”

But who is Nate Bargatze? For those unfamiliar with the comedian, here are a few facts.

He has three hour-long comedy specials

The first two can be found on Netflix: “The Tennessee Kid” (2019) and the “The Greatest Average American” (2021).

In January, Bargatze’s first Amazon special — “Hello, World!” — became available on Prime Video. It was filmed in Phoenix as part of his 2022 comedy tour.

“I’m very, very happy with this hour,” Bargatze told the Deseret News at the time. “I talk about growing up. I have a little bit in there about growing up Christian. It’s talking about my family. This hour was very fun to tell and I had a lot of fun telling it.”

He grew up in the South and is Christian

Bargatze is from Old Hickory, Tennessee. He occasionally touches on religion in his comedy. In “Hello, World!” he talked about growing up with “’80s and ’90s Christian parents.”

“Well, that’s the most Christian you can ever get,” he said.

He’s a self-identified ‘clean’ comedian

Bargatze told the Deseret News that his religious upbringing influenced his brand of comedy.

“I grew up Southern Christian, and (clean comedy is) all we could watch. It’s just how we were,” he said. “I knew I would never be dirty. I’ve always been clean.

“It was just always what I was going to do. Definitely when I moved to New York and a lot of comics were dirty, I would do a lot of midnight shows that would be like ‘uncensored comedy.’ Being edgy ... was like this big thing. But I always just knew I was going to do what I was going to do. I could never be dirty in front of my parents. Not that that’s the only thing stopping me. It just was never going to happen.”

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He is building a clean comedy brand

Bargatze has a YouTube channel called Nateland Entertainment, which features his weekly podcast and comedy specials that he has produced for comics Mike Vecchione, Greg Warren and Joe Zimmerman.

“I just want people to watch comedy,” Bargatze told the Deseret News. “It’s hard to watch stuff with your family. With my shows, when people come out, it’s all ages. It’s grandmothers to 9-year-olds. And it’s not like I’m trying to do comedy for any one group — I don’t want to be just a children’s comic. I just want to do what I do. But I love that it can appeal to this many people.”

He loves golf

In June, Bargatze played in the Pebble Beach ProAm. The title of his latest special is a nod to Tiger Woods — who said “I guess, hello world, huh?” during a press conference after making his professional debut.

When asked if he got a laugh out of Woods when they met recently, Bargatze said: “I don’t think I got a laugh. I think I was bombarding him too much where he didn’t know to laugh.”

Other facts about Nate Bargatze

• Bargatze’s father was a magician and will sometimes tour with his son as the opening act.

• Bargatze is a fan of Vanderbilt football.

• He’s currently in the middle of his nationwide “The Be Funny Tour.”

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• What Nate Bargatze said about religion during a sold-out Salt Lake City show