This past weekend’s SNL was an eventful one. Dave Chappelle hosted, Foo Fighters was the musical guest, and, oh yeah, it was the first episode since Joe Biden won the election against Donald Trump, finally ending the wheezing Alec Baldwin-as-the-president-era. Put it all together, and you had the show’s best ratings in over three years.
SNL scored a 2.6 rating among the all-important adults 18-49 demographic, “its best since May 2017 and the best for any comedy telecast on Nielsen-measured TV since the series finale of The Big Bang Theory 18 months ago,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. “It also drew 9.06 million viewers, the most since a December 2019 episode with host Eddie Murphy (9.96 million).” The last episode to do so well in the 18-to-49 age group was in May 2017 when Melissa McCarthy hosted. Turns out having funny people host — Chappelle, Murphy, McCarthy — makes for quality television. Who knew?
Vs. the comparable 2016 post-election SNL (8.691 million, 3.15 18-49 rating), also hosted by Chappelle, this year’s show was +4 percent in total viewers and off a bit in 18-49. The 2.62 rating in 18-to-49 doubles SNL’s November average from last season (2.62 vs. 1.28, +105 percent). In total viewers, the increase is +3.031 million viewers or +50 percent (9.064 million vs. 6.033 million).
The most-watched clip from the episode on YouTube is the cold open.
Uncle Ben remains the best, however.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)