America is home to a shortened presidential race unlike any other. But then the chaos of the past few months, one thing is certain: “Saturday Night Live” will be ready to skewer them all.
NBC’s landmark sketch comedy series returns this weekend just in time to satirize the revamped race for the White House. “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris. “SNL” cast member James Austin Johnson will once again don a red tie to portray former President Donald Trump.
The fast-turning election isn’t the only reason the power is high this season. “SNL” is turning 50, which means a show once synonymous with 1970s counterculture energy is now eligible for an AARP card. It’s a milestone the network plans to honor with a three-hour prime-time special on Feb. 16 — a Sunday. (“SNL” and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal.)
But first comes Saturday’s season premiere with host Jean Smart, who is fresh off her third Emmy win for her role on “Hacks,” and musical guest Jelly Roll, who performed during the tribute of the Emmys in memoriam. Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s safe to assume that the five-week sprint to Election Day will be the focus of the episode.
“SNL” has mined comedy gold in presidential politics since it debuted in 1975, and Chevy Chase portrayed President Gerald Ford as a crazy clutch. In the decades since, political parodies have been a staple of the show, from Dana Carvey to President George HW Bush (“A Thousand Points of Light”) to Tina Fey as the GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin (“I can see Russia from my house!”) during the 2008 election.
“‘SNL’ has always helped us process the absurdities of the week in politics through sketch comedy. It can be cathartic for people, so the show plays an important role,” said Jeffrey P. Jones, professor of entertainment and media. information. attends the University of Georgia who has written scholarly essays on “SNL” and politics.
Rudolph, speaking to Variety this month for a profile, he nodded to the high stakes of the election and Harris’ historic nominationsaying in part that the role was “bigger than me, and it’s about something very important.” She added: “I’m excited to be associated with it, and I’m also happy to play her and everyone is cool with it. She loves it.”
As for Johnson’s portrayal of Trump, meanwhile, “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels said viewers should expect a slightly different take on the Republican nominee, who has been portrayed on the show by six performers — including by Alec Baldwin, who won an Emmy. for the role in 2017.
“Trump has been transformed. James, who I think is brilliant, played Trump as a kind of downgraded Trump,” Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter. “The guy in the back of the hardware store was holding the pitch, and that played because it felt relevant. But we’re going to have to reinvent it because, well, you’ve seen the conversation.”
Michaels and the “SNL” crew remained mum on the artists lined up to portray the vice presidential candidates, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. (Fun fact: “The Sixth Sense” star Haley Joel Osment played Vance on a recent episode of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”)
In the days since Harris chose Walz as her running mate, social media has been abuzz with casting ideas. The most popular: Steve Martin, 16-time host of “SNL” and, like Walz, a man of a certain age with white hair. Martin turned down the part, however, telling the Los Angeles Times: “You need someone who can really nail the guy.”
“SNL” will have plenty of fodder for the election season: Harris’ rapid rise after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Walz’s public image as a folksy midwestern dad. Vance’s controversial comments about childless women. the GOP ticket’s baseless claims of pet-eating immigrants; The list goes on.
“You have three people who aren’t that well known — Harris, Walsh, Vance — so I think the caricatures on the show will help you identify who they are in the public’s imagination,” said Jones, the media professor. “Will the satire be brutal or a glove? We’ll just have to see.”
In many ways, “SNL” is at a crossroads. The landscape of late-night television has been upended by the rise of cord-cutting and streaming alternatives. “SNL” may be an institution, but it must maintain its edge in a crowded market for political satire that includes late-night network talk shows, podcasts, YouTube and TikTok.
However, “SNL” continues to be a huge influence on popular culture and the entertainment industry. The show still has the power to catapult cast members to national stardom, introducing viewers to new talent before they make the jump to high-profile movies or TV projects.
The show is so firmly established in the cultural consciousness that even the behind-the-scenes production of the first episode has received the Hollywood biopic treatment. “Saturday Night,” a new film from director Jason Reitman (“Juno”), chronicles the frenetic run up to its Oct. 11, 1975, debut broadcast.
Michaels has presided over the “SNL” empire since its inception (with the exception of a brief stretch in the 1980s), but in recent years he’s been dogged by questions about when he might step down. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he has no immediate plans to quit.
“Every year there are more and more people I rely on for other things, but ultimately you really need someone to say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ Well, I don’t have an answer, I just know that this is something that I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I’m going to keep doing it,” said Michaels, who turns 80 in November. “There is no immediate plan.”
The series’ lineup was shuffled before the 50th season. Punkie Johnson, who joined the cast in 2020, left the show; Supporting performers Molly Kearney and Chloe Troast also left. The producers brought in three new “featured players”: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline.
The trio of new cast members will be looking for a breakout sketch in the coming weeks. Five hosts and musical guests are on set: Nate Bargatze and Coldplay (October 5). Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks (October 12); Michael Keaton and Billie Eilish (October 19); and John Mulaney and Chappell Roan (November 2).
