'Saturday Night Live' Releases Maya Rudolph Promos, Hits Highs With Zooey Deschanel (Video)

Maya Rudolph returns to her old stomping grounds this weekend with her first Saturday Night Live hosting gig.

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Though she's made several appearances since departing in 2007, most notably alongside former castmates Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the first promos play up her official return, showing her and Andy Samberg going through a time capsule she left backstage. 

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The Bridesmaids and Up All Night actress' timely return to the series has raised eyebrows over whether the comedian might reprise her long-running parody of Whitney Houston. Rudolph famously appeared during the Weekend Update segment, in an all white suit, breaking into song, referencing Bobby Brown and seeming more than a little out of it.

Last week, on just a few hours' notice, the series honored Houston by showing a frame of her 1996 appearance on the show, acting alongside Molly Shannon.

That episode, hosted by Zooey Deschanel, continued a ratings upswing for the series. Following the NFL playoff-boosted broadcast on Jan. 7 (a 4.1 rating among adults 18-49), Deschanel's episode posted the series highest demo showing since last year's May 21 finale. The 2.7 was up 4 percent from the same week last year.

Rudolph will be joined by Brooklyn-based Sleigh Bells, making their first appearance on the show. Watch all of the promos below: