NBC shed more than half of its post-election audience compared to 2020
SNL mocks its own anti-Trump stances in cold open after election
NBC's "Saturday Night Live" made fun of its own anti-Trump cast in a skit about the president-elect's victory.
While it did not appear on any ballots on Election Day, one of the biggest losers of the 2024 election cycle was "Saturday Night Live."
NBC's long-running sketch comedy show has long been at the center of the cultural zeitgeist, satirizing the news of the day and poking fun at the most powerful politicians while also serving as a launching pad for prominent comedians' careers. But its viewership has taken a hit this year, especially compared to the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Saturday's post-election installment of "SNL" averaged just 4.4 million total viewers, losing more than half of the 9.2 million viewers it's post-election show received in 2020, according to data from Nielsen Research. It marked the least-watched episode so far this season.
SNL MOCKS ITS OWN ANTI-TRUMP STANCE WITH ‘SUPPORT’ FOR HIS VICTORY: ‘BEEN WITH YOU ALL ALONG’
"SNL" shed 25% of its audience during the 2024 election season compared to 2020. (NBC / Saturday Night Live)
In the weeks leading up to the 2024 election, "SNL" averaged 5.4 million viewers, losing 25% of its audience leading up to the 2020 election and nearly a third of its audience from 2016.
The Peacock network heavily relied on stunt casting this election cycle with "SNL" alums Maya Rudolph and Dana Carvey playing Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden respectively, comedian Jim Gaffigan playing Harris' running mate Tim Walz and "SNL" alum Andy Samberg playing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
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Regular cast members James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang played President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, respectively.
Popular comedian Shane Gillis reportedly turned down an offer by "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels to play Trump this season after he sported his Trump impersonation when he hosted the show earlier this year. Gillis was famously hired, then fired by "SNL" in 2019 as a featured cast member after progressive critics seized on old jokes.
"SNL" cast members Bowen Yang and James Austin Johnson have portrayed Vice President-elect JD Vance and President-elect Donald Trump on the show this year. (NBC/Contributor)
The most-watched episode of the season so far was the Saturday prior to Election Day, when Harris made a surprise appearance in the cold open alongside Rudolph, which earned 6.6 million viewers.
Trump himself has not appeared on "SNL" since he hosted the show in November 2015 during his first presidential campaign. That earned a whopping 9.3 million viewers at the time.
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"SNL" spent much of the past eight years bashing the now president-elect. During the 2024 post-election cold open sketch, "SNL" cast members offered a message to him, jokingly insisting they were "with [him] all along."
"We have never wavered in our support of you, even when others doubted you," Yang said.
The post-election "SNL" episode reached just 4.4 million viewers, less than half of its post-election episode in 2020. (NBC / SNL)
During Trump's first term in office, the president was played by Alec Baldwin. And in the first two years of the Biden presidency, "SNL" spent more time spoofing the former president than the current one.
Some of its cast members reportedly sobbed over Hillary Clinton's defeat in 2016. In its first cold open after she lost, Clinton portrayer Kate McKinnon performed a serious rendition of "Hallelujah" on the piano and tearfully told the audience they shouldn't give up.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
