This past weekend saw the premiere of Saturday Night Live’s 50th Season, which was one of the most anticipated events on our 2024 TV schedule for many reasons. Not only was this episode historic, it also is an election year, which means we're getting new impressions of the president and the candidates running for the position. This included SNL legend Dana Carvey, who came back to impersonate Joe Biden in a spot-on and hilarious way. Now, a clip of him breaking down his impression of the current president is going viral.
It was a homecoming of sorts in Studio 8H this past weekend. Maya Rudolph reprised her role as Vice President Kamala Harris, and she was joined by fellow former cast member Andy Samberg who played her husband Doug Emhoff. Comedian Jim Gaffigan also appeared as an uncanny version of VP candidate Tim Walz, but the real surprise was SNL icon Dana Carvey showing up as Joe Biden. While the impression seems effortless (as it always does with Carvey), Al Franken posted a clip to X of the comedian breaking down how the impression came together, and the video has since gone viral. Check it out:
.@danacarvey did his Joe Biden on @nbcsnl this past Saturday. He and I have been discussing it for a while. Here's a conversation we had a few months ago. pic.twitter.com/fdLpAvJbJ4September 30, 2024
In the clip, Carvey dissects his impression into phrases and rhythms he’s noticed in the commander-in-chief’s speeches. He builds off those mannerisms to craft his version of Biden, adding in his own comedic choices. The internet couldn’t get over the hilarious “And guess what? And by the way…” bit as well as the “No joke. I’m being serious” part, which Carvey said they had a laugh about as well:
We both thought that was just so funny, how he’d say something that was utterly not funny. No human being would think a guy losing his job was a joke, but he has to tell us, 'I’m not a stand-up comedian here. I’m not being funny. My father lost his job, no joke.'
As both a former SNL writer and U.S. Senator, there was no one better than Al Franken to help the Master of Disguise actor build his Biden impression.
In Saturday’s cold open, we saw both sides of Joe Biden: the “friendly grandpa” and the no-nonsense grandpa. In his video posted to X, Franken prompted Carvey to talk about his decision to include both a “soft Biden and loud Biden” in his impersonation:
It was very whispery and very just gentle. And then at some point, the press was being a little harder on him or something, but I noticed, and they were talking about his viga. His viga. And then he started to go from a whisper yell to 'so sorry to be very loud. I wrote the bill and did the things people talk about' and spoke loud and high. And that was a new rhythm for me. I’d never seen him go that loud.
This isn’t the first time the Wayne’s World star has done a presidential impression. Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and even Donald Trump have been subject to Carvey’s talent. However, this surprise Joe Biden appearance has to be up there with one of the best presidential impressions to happen in Studio 8H. All I can say is, where has he been for the past 4 years? I feel like Lorne Michaels must be punching the air for not asking the Lil Nicky actor to return sooner. Check out the impression from Saturday night’s show below.
@nbcsnl j’biden
♬ original sound - Saturday Night Live - SNL
While some of the SNL cast might not be thrilled about recurring roles being handed to guest comedians, I think this new tradition of outsourcing some of the political roles to beloved alum and comedic legends is a fun surprise for the audience. I hope the late-night show continues this tradition. Plus, both candidates on the Republican ticket were played by current cast members James Austin Johnson (Donald Trump) and Bowen Yang (JD Vance).
All I care about is that we get at least one more appearance this season from Joe Biden a.k.a Dana Carvey before his time in office is done. His 30 seconds or so in the cold open was not enough, I know there is more where that came from! In hopes of another cameo, you can catch a new episode of SNL every Saturday on NBC or with a Peacock subscription.
