The 50th season of Saturday Night Live (SNL) has gotten off to a strong start, with the season premiere on September 28 drawing 5.3 million viewers, the most for an SNL season premiere since 2020.
Here is what the 50th-year anniversary has in store for watchers now:
Early October, Ariana Grande’s appearance on SNL proved to be a fan favorite, and drawing in 5.6 million viewers on NBC. This marked the highest ratings for the show since Elon Musk’s hosting gig in May 2021. The episode also became the most-watched “SNL” installment ever on Peacock, the NBC streaming platform, across its first two days of viewing.
Grande’s comedic and musical talents were on full display throughout the night, including her impersonations of stars like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Celine Dion. The episode’s success extended beyond the broadcast, with a “record-breaking” 516 million views across SNL’s social channels, 415 million of which were attributed to in-show sketch and musical performance content.
Most popularly, in the “Bridesmaid Speech” sketch, Grande channeled her inner diva, delivering a hilariously off-key rendition of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” that left the audience in a hilarious fit. Junior Amina Stark expresses, “I think that this season is one of the funniest in a while, since like 2020 … As for the Domingo one, it’s funny but not the funniest skit. SNL definitely has better ones.”
As the 2024 presidential election heats up, viewers were treated to a star-studded lineup of political impressions. Alec Baldwin made a surprise return as former President Donald Trump, joining Maya Rudolph’s Vice President Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg’s Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey’s President Joe Biden, and Jim Gaffigan’s Tim Walz in a high-stakes game of “Family Feud.”
Continuing on the lines of politics, Nate Bargatze has once again captivated audiences with his portrayal of a deadpan, earnest George Washington. Junior Grace Castro inputs, “This SNL episode really reminded me of what I’m learning in US history class, and honestly resembles the questions I’m asking about it myself.” The comedian’s recurring “Washington’s Dream” sketch, which first debuted last season, returned with Bargatze leading his soldiers across the Delaware River. In the latest iteration, Washington yearns to Americanize the English language, proposing the creation of a new word – “dozen” – to represent the number 12, as he believes “only 12 shall have its own word because we are free men.”
Overall, SNL’s 50th season is off to a remarkable start, showcasing its ability to stay relevant and endure popularity. With its main audience shifting from Generation X to more of Generation Z, SNL has found its way to stay relevant among the emerging crowd of viewers.
