Iconic sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL) is back, kickstarting Season 50 on a high note. The show is famous for its parodies of contemporary American culture and politics. The September 28 premiere featured guest stars Maya Rudolph and James Austin Johnson as the 2024 presidential candidates hosting rallies for the upcoming election. The pilot drew an audience of 5.3 million viewers–record-breaking numbers for the streaming service Peacock. The premiere is widely accepted as a strong start for SNL as election day draws closer.
Despite the large viewership, the premiere has received mixed feedback. Many fans are taking to social media to voice their opinions on the skit, with one user claiming that the show was no longer comedy, but ‘red meat propaganda’ meant to ‘rev up the base’. They complained that Maya Rudolph “played Kamala too smart”, and the dialogue “blatantly favored a liberal audience”. Vox criticized the show for having a “nostalgia problem”, and an opinion from the Washington Post said it “took a neglected path of TV time and turned it into a playground”. While this sort of backlash to SNL’s politicking is not uncommon, the majority of feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
Even the harshest of critics from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal agreed that the format now worked; more of the humor was “on target,” and the prime-time players were “incredibly adept” at going live. It is a response that can be hard to come by when the main focus of the premiere was election politics, but SNL managed to pull it off.
With the election just over a month away at the premiere’s release, the opener showcasing some classic politicking makes sense. However, that is not the only thing SNL showcased, and likely will not be the sole focus of Season 50. The season premiere also referenced other ongoing trends, such as Moo Deng, the internet’s favorite pygmy hippopotamus, slandering Chappell Roan. The skit blended the Moo Deng impersonation with Roan’s rant against her fans by referencing the pygmy’s ‘struggles with fame’.
Despite SNL’s political cold open, season 50 likely will not focus solely on election content. Hopefully, this will encourage more people to follow the show, knowing that the content will remain relatable. Only time will tell as viewers look forward to watching the rest of Season 50 play out.
