Saturday Night Live Season 50 debuted last night and launched with a bang. Unsurprisingly, the first episode of the landmark season kicked off with a political sketch that lampooned the political rallies of U.S. Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. While it was known that Maya Rudolph would reprise Harris and likely expected that James Austin Johnson would return as Trump, they were joined by some familiar faces. SNL alum Andy Samberg and comedian Jim Gaffigan were revealed to have been cast in key roles, and the Internet is fired up!
Both Andy Samberg and Jim Gaffigan’s roles were connected to the Kamala Harris segments of the cold open. During that portion, Maya Rudolph’s Harris brought out her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was revealed to be played by Jim Gaffigan. The veteran funnyman effortlessly portrayed Walz, channeling his boisterous personality. And, later on, SNL’s version of Harris brought out her husband, Doug Emhoff, played humorously by Andy Samberg. Check out the sketch in its entirety:
I honestly didn’t have either of these actors on my own bingo card for the Tim Walz and Dough Emhoff roles. When it comes to Wolz, many were thinking that Steve Martin or Parks and Recreation alum Jim O’Heir would be suitable. Ultimately, Martin shot down the notion, admitting he’s not an impressionist, while O’Heir said he didn’t mind being in the mix. However, SNL made a strong choice in the Unfrosted star and the same goes for the Lonely Island co-founder playing Emhoff.
As previously alluded to, fans are also hyped up about these castings. Several of them took to X at some point throughout the broadcast to share their praises for Andy Samberg and Jim Gaffigan. Check out some of the responses below:
- ANDY SAMBERG AS DOUG EMHOFF is killing me so bad lmfao #SNLPremiere - @votekamala
- Holy shit, I hope Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win, because Jim Gaffigan is GREAT as Tim Walz! 😆 - @mmpadellan
- Can yall believe andy samberg and maya rudolph are back together at SNL in 2024[?] - @sqmberg
- Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz on SNL. Absolutely perfect, no notes. - @consequence
- Andy Samberg playing Doug Emhoff[,] Oh #SNL is so back[.] - @cevanstarshine
- Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz might be the greatest casting in history[.] - @benjpalmer
On the political comedy front, there were a few more interesting casts during the episode, which welcomed Jean Smart as the first SNL Season 50 host and Jelly Roll as musical guest. Taking on the role of President Joe Biden, as you can see above, was series alum Dana Carvey, whose portrayal of the Commander in Chief was quite humorous. Also, in an interesting development, current cast member Bowen Yang took on the role of Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, during a segment that roasted the senator as a “bad” VP choice.
Much has been said about Saturday Night Live’s method of choosing actors for its political roles. Maya Rudolph opened up about her return as Vice President Harris, saying this marks the first time she’s been in a situation “where the world has determined that I'm doing something before I have.” On the other side of that spectrum, current cast members seemingly have mixed feelings on political sketches utilizing Rudolph and other outside talent. Michael Che opined that it’s probably “frustrating” for someone if they feel they have a better impression.
Still, considering the new castings and plenty of real-life political developments to come in the next several months, fans could be in for some seriously humorous moments on SNL. It never ceases to amaze me how the producers manage to pick and choose such fine talent to portray these real people. Here’s to a great 50th year for the long-running sketch comedy series that’s filled with sharp political satire!
Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC amid the 2024 TV schedule and is set to welcome Nate Bargatze and Coldplay next week, October 5. Also, you can stream this week’s episode now using a Peacock subscription.
