SNL Torpedoes Republicans Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz, and Kari Lake in Brutal Midterms Cold Open

Saturday Night Live kicked off the fourth episode of the new season by brutally lampooning GOP candidates Herschel Walker, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Kari Lake in a spoof of PBS NewsHour.

Pop superstar Jack Harlow was the guest host and musical guest on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live. Variety reported on Harlow’s hosting gig, noting it’s the MC’s debut in the emcee role:

Jack Harlow will serve as the host and musical guest on the next episode of “Saturday Night Live,” set to air on Oct. 29. “SNL” announced the booking on this week’s episode, which also features another music star as both host and musical guest: Megan Thee Stallion.

This marks the first time Harlow has hosted “SNL,” and his second time as musical performer. He made his “Saturday Night Live” debut as musical guest on March 27, 2021, alongside host Maya Rudolph.

Harlow released his major label debut “That’s What They All Say” in 2020, and followed that up with this year’s “Come Home the Kids Miss You.” In 2021, he was named Variety’s hitmaker of the year. Harlow was just named songwriter of the year at the SESAC Music Awards.

Harlow teased the appearance with an online mini-sketch promo in which cast members Kenan Thompson and Marcello Hernández tried to guess what his costume was (“Fluff Daddy!” “A sanitary napkin!” “Macklemore!”), which Harlow claimed was simply his normal clothing. But there was a comic twist:

But before Harlow could begin his hosting stint, the cast of the long-running sketch show performed its 936th cold open, a long-running gag in which the show performs a parody — usually related to current events — that ends with performers breaking character and exclaiming “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

The very first cold open — on October 11, 1975 — lasted only 96 seconds and featured Chevy Chase uttering the catchphrase as a confused production assistant on a new show that was then called simply NBC’s Saturday Night. It has evolved into an often elaborate and anticipated part of the show that can run closer to ten minutes.

This week, the cold open featured a parody of PBS NewsHour focusing on Republican candidates like Herschel Walker — who can’t stop calling host Judy Woodruff “Judas” — Dr. Oz, and Kari Lake.

Watch above via NBC’s Saturday Night Live.