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TV

What ‘SNL’s’ strong season opener says about voter attitudes

By
Michael Starr
Published Oct. 1, 2018, 6:07 p.m. ET

“Saturday Night Live” opened its 44th season to strong numbers over the weekend — which should surprise no one who’s paid any attention to polarizing political headlines of late.

While official numbers aren’t yet available, the show’s overnight ratings suggest that Saturday’s premiere snared in the ballpark of 7.5 million viewers, up from 7.1 million for 2017’s season opener.

The robust audience showing is perhaps proof that for all the slings and arrows shot at NBC’s late-night warhorse since the late ’70s — forgettable casts, dull sketches, lackluster writing — “SNL” continues to be TV’s go-to sketch/variety show for hot-button political humor.

The 2018 season premiere, featuring Matt Damon lampooning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, helped “SNL” to its best opening-night since the 2016 election season and its second-best premiere numbers since 2012.

That’s no coincidence. Both 2012 and 2016 were presidential election years, and “SNL” has a long history of skewering politicians. Memorable targets include Richard Nixon (a mustachioed Dan Aykroyd), Gerald Ford (Chevy Chase), George H. W. Bush (Dana Carvey), Bill Clinton (Phil Hartman), George W. Bush (Will Ferrell), Barack Obama (Fred Armisen and Jay Pharoah) and now Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin).

And let’s not forget Sarah Palin (Tina Fey) and Hillary Clinton (played most memorably by Kate McKinnon during the 2016 election season — and thereafter).

When political tensions run high, so too do the show’s ratings. Fey’s first appearance as Palin on “SNL,” back in September 2008, helped that night’s show average a whopping 10.2 million viewers. When Palin appeared as herself a month later, next to her “SNL” alter ego, that episode grabbed nearly 15 million viewers, and more than 13 million viewers tuned in to watch then-presidential candidate John McCain that November. The telecast of Donald Trump’s inauguration snagged 7.3 million viewers, while Baldwin’s first appearance as Trump helped that night’s “SNL” net 8.3 million viewers. As Larry David (who played Bernie Sanders on “SNL”) would say: “Pretty, pretty good.”

Although 2018 isn’t a presidential election year, an increasingly divided electorate has demonstrated fierce interest in next month’s midterm elections. Perhaps “SNL’s” high ratings bode well for voter turnout.

Granted, “SNL” isn’t the only TV show tackling political humor. Since 2016, some late-night hosts — particularly Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah and John Oliver — have mined politics and crafted sharp, perceptive monologues — and have seen their ratings rise in tandem.

But talk shows are somewhat limited in what they can explore. After all, there’s only so much monologue time, and celeb guests need to come on and pitch their newest projects.

“SNL,” on the other hand, is unique in its approach. The cold open — the sketch that airs before the show’s opening credits — often tackles current events in comedic sketch formats customized and fine-tuned for the moment.

The cold open doesn’t always tackle politics. Right now, though, fans wouldn’t have it any other way.