Saturday Night Live returned with a bang for its 50th season premiere over the weekend.
The Sept. 28 episode, hosted by Jean Smart and featuring musical guest Jelly Roll, drew 5.3 million viewers in live same-day viewing — the most for an SNL season premiere since 2020, NBC announced Monday.
The episode also ranked as the most-watched installment of the show ever on Peacock during its first weekend.
Related: ‘SNL’ Kicks Off Season 50 With Politics and Diddy Jokes
The previous record-setting premiere aired on NBC in 2020, when Chris Rock hosted, with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion and Alec Baldwin reprised his role as then-President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press.
This weekend’s episode included a cold open about the presidential race, and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal troubles.
SNL alum Maya Rudolph returned and brought joy to the campaign trail as Vice President Kamala Harris, while James Austin Johnson spouted doom and gloom as former President Donald Trump, as previously reported.
Rudolph was joined by fellow comedians Jim Gaffigan as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz; Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden; Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff; and Bowen Yang as Senator J.D. Vance.
The NBC sketch comedy series from creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels debuted on Oct. 11, 1975. The long-running series is produced by Michaels in association with Broadway Video.
The cast on the very first season was made up of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris who just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 1, which was his 87th birthday.
NBC is planning a 50th anniversary primetime Saturday Night Live special on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.
The show returns on Saturday, Oct. 5 with comedian Nate Bargatze hosting and musical guest Coldplay.
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