The 50th season of “S.N.L.” opened with a sketch featuring several cast alumni, including Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris and Dana Carvey as President Biden.
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‘S.N.L.’ Recap: Maya Rudolph Returns to Play Kamala Harris

The 50th season began with several surprise guests and alumni — including Dana Carvey, Jim Gaffigan and Andy Samberg — playing figures in the 2024 election.

by · NY Times

“Saturday Night Live” dug deep into its contact list of celebrity alumni and friends in the comedy world as it kicked off its 50th season with an opening sketch that featured Maya Rudolph’s anticipated return as Vice President Kamala Harris.

The sketch, for which the cast member James Austin Johnson returned in his recurring role as former President Donald Trump, also saw the debuts of the comedian Jim Gaffigan as Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Bowen Yang, another “S.N.L.” performer, as Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

And for good measure, the segment included appearances from “S.N.L.” alums Andy Samberg as Douglas Emhoff, the Second Gentleman, and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden.

Speculation had swirled all summer about who would play these roles on “S.N.L.,” which tends to receive increased attention during presidential election seasons. That curiosity was intensified by the reshuffling of the Democratic ticket in July, when President Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the 2024 race.

In early August, when Harris chose Walz as her running mate, many fans wondered if Steve Martin, a frequent “S.N.L.” host and friend of the show, would be cast as the Minnesota governor and vice-presidential hopeful.

But Martin himself quickly nixed that, telling the Los Angeles Times that he did not consider himself an impressionist. “They’re going to find somebody really, really good,” Martin said at the time. “I’d be struggling.”

The opening sketch, which juxtaposed the scenes between presidential rallies for the Harris and Trump campaigns, saw Rudolph take the stage to applause. “Well, well, well,” she said. “Look who fell out of that coconut tree.”

Later in her speech, she brought out Gaffigan, the prolific standup, as an enthusiastic Walz. “Folks, I haven’t been this excited since I got a 10 percent rebate on a leaf blower from Menards.”

Carvey, a veteran impressionist who for “S.N.L.” played President George H.W. Bush and the independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, appeared as Biden during the Harris rally.

“Thank you for putting country first and for handing over the reins,” Rudolph said to him.

“I didn’t want to,” Carvey responded. “They made me.”

The energy was more subdued at the Trump rally, where Johnson stood behind a pane of bulletproof glass and told a weary crowd, “I see you trying to leave, but the doors are locked.”

After referring to a failed attempt to assassinate Trump at a rally in July, Johnson added, “They say that me blaming the Democrats for inciting violence is the pot calling the kettle black. But frankly I didn’t know the kettle was black until very recently. I thought the kettle was Indian.”

The glass was rolled away when Yang joined the rally as Vance. Yang said to the crowd: “How much do we love Donald Trump? You know, just this afternoon he told me: ‘J.D., you’re like a son to me. Because I don’t like you but I’m stuck with you.’”

Game show parody of the week

It didn’t take long for “S.N.L.” to roll out its first game-show sendup of the season. This one — a would-be celebrity edition of “The $100,000 Pyramid” — succeeded almost entirely on the basis of Kenan Thompson’s role as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina, the Republican candidate for governor whom CNN reported made many inflammatory posts on the message board of a pornographic website.

Thompson had a disastrous round paired with another celebrity contestant, the rapper and pop star Bad Bunny, played by Marcello Hernández. (Trying to get Thompson to guess the clue “Uber,” Hernández said, “You pull it up on your phone and you go for a ride.” Thompson answered, “The website Nude Africa.”)

Assessing his terrible performance afterward, Thompson said simply, “I guess I got my own stuff going on.”

Weekend Update jokes of the week

Over at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued to riff on the 2024 presidential race and the recent indictment of Mayor Eric Adams of New York.

Jost began:

Well, it is our first show of the season, and there were so many insane political stories this summer that everyone kept asking, “Are you so bummed you aren’t on the air right now?” And I was like, “I have a feeling there’s going to be more that happens when we get back.” For example, two hours ago, at a rally, Donald Trump called Kamala Harris “a mentally disabled person.” Just straight up. Which is amazing. I cannot believe that Trump admitted he lost the debate to a mentally disabled person. You can really tell that Trump is worried about this election, because now he’s just lashing out, hoping anything will work. Look:

He played video of Trump at a rally saying: “I could have been sunbathing on the beach. You have never seen a body so beautiful. Much better — much better than Sleepy Joe.”

Jost responded:

What are you talking about? You’re saying you’ve got a hotter body than Joe Biden? I’m starting to worry that bullet got a little more than just the ear.

Che later pivoted to a political subject that has been especially on the minds of New Yorkers in recent days:

On Friday, New York Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to federal authorities and was arraigned on corruption and bribery charges where he pleaded, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” After Adams was charged, he said, “We are not surprised. We expected this.” You know, because of all the briberies. Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly already interested in running for mayor. Damn, he moves faster than Covid through a nursing home.

Weekend Update guests of the week

The Weekend Update desk welcomed two “S.N.L.” cast members for character pieces that are both very much worth your time. The first was Devon Walker as Mayor Adams, attempting unsuccessfully to explain to Che why he had done favors for the Turkish government in exchange for luxury travel.

“So you want your mayor in coach, huh?” Walker protested. “You want me in the back with my legs all cramped and my mouth all dry from the biscotti? No, no, New York City needs me in first class.”

But why Turkey? Che asked. Walker answered, “Hey, two words, Michael: Gobble, gobble.”

A few minutes later, Yang appeared at the desk as Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippopotamus from a Thailand zoo that has become a worldwide viral sensation. When not drinking blasts of water from a hose, Yang said that newfound celebrity was exhausting

“When I’m in my enclosure, tripping over stuff, biting my trainer’s knee, I am at work,” he said. “That is the project.”

Jost noted that Moo Deng’s plea for personal space was similar to video remarks made by the pop singer Chappell Roan. “Do you know Chappell Roan?” Jost asked. Yang responded: “I’m 10 weeks old, Colin. Of course I know Chappell Roan.”

Television lesson of the week

If there are still any audience members in the “S.N.L.” target demographic who know the classic sitcom “I Love Lucy,” they were sure to be delighted by this offbeat sketch. It imagined that the star role played by Lucille Ball was given instead to a dramatic actress (played by the episode’s host, Jean Smart) who seemed bent on turning the show into “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

The sketch also features Hernández as Ricky Ricardo (who never stoops to use the word “’splainin‘” and Yang as a deadpan CNN host trying to explain the show to modern-day viewers. “You have to remember, TV was still young,” Yang said. “The only TV star up to this point was a horse who smoked cigarettes.”

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