SNL Scores Highest Rated Premiere in Four Years with More Than 7 Million Viewers

This week’s Saturday Night Live, hosted by Chris Rock with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion, scored its highest-rated premiere in four years, according to Nielsen Media Research, with an audience of 7.765 million viewers.

The sketch series returned to New York’s Rockefeller Center for the season 46 premiere, performing live for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the entertainment industry in March.

Viewers must have been excited for the show’s return to the small screen, as the last season premiere to see such high numbers was in 2016, with host Margot Robbie and musical guest The Weeknd.

Excluding the episode hosted by Eddie Murphy with musical guest Lizzo, it is also SNL’s number one most watched episode in over three years, since the 2017 series finale, which was hosted by Dwayne Johnson with musical guest Katy Perry and saw an audience of 8.275 million.

This week’s episode averaged a 1.68 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.765 million viewers overall, a jump from the numbers they saw while shooting at home. The show’s debut lockdown episode was hosted by Tom Hanks with musical guest Chris Martin and saw an audience of 6.662 viewers overall with a 1.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

During this week’s cold open, Alec Baldwin returned as President Donald Trump, while Jim Carrey portrayed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and former cast member Maya Rudolph returned for her iconic Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) impression.

The three battled it out in a parody of the first presidential debate, during which Carrey’s Biden joked about Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis.

“You can trust me,” he said. “Because I believe in science. And karma, Now, just imagine if science and karma could somehow team up to send us all a message about how dangerous this virus can be. I’m not saying I want it to happen. Just imagine if it did.”