The iconic comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” returned in early October for season 49 following the Writers Guild of America strike resolution.
On Oct. 14, host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice brought in 4.8 million viewers, which is a 19% audience increase from season 48’s premiere.
However, the notable increase comes with a 31% rise in the 18-49 age demographic, which received a .96, the best rating that coveted in demographic since the 2020 premiere.
“SNL” also generated 1.2 million social media interactions with Davidson’s episode — the most since Taylor Swift’s 10-minute “All Too Well” performance.
It feels like since its inception, “SNL” has been “not as good as it used to be” and rumored to be canceled.
It would be easy to credit the high ratings and viewership to a late return due to the WGA strike, Davidson’s return to “SNL” since being a cast member, Ice Spice’s rising star or the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift cameos.
But it’s current events, controversial hosts, up-and-coming musicians and celebrity cameos that make “SNL” the titan of pop culture.
“SNL” had a transition season last year following the mass exodus of cast members with big names such as Davidson, Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant.
That “transition” season had better episodes and moments than “SNL” has had in a minute. The show was gaining traction with a personality of the oncoming era fully forming, but was, unfortunately, cut short with the WGA strike.
This season continued with Bad Bunny taking on double duty and the ratings barely dropped.
The following week, Nate Bargatze and the Foo Fighters took on 4.9 million viewers even without an A-lister in the host slot.
It would be safe to assume the Timothee Chalamet/boygenius episode continued the high viewership, especially in the 18-49 age demographic.
With “SNL” experiencing high viewership among the elusive Gen Z viewers, they have an opportunity to establish their new era with a fanbase they haven’t yet been able to capture.
This digital age, in many ways, has hurt “SNL.”
Any current event has received plenty of jokes in tweets, TikTok and other platforms, often making good jokes or concepts from “SNL” seem stale or lame.
But “SNL” is somewhat responsible for the digital era as we know it.
The week the video-sharing platform YouTube launched, “Saturday Night Live” aired a sketch, “Lazy Sunday,” which was illegally posted to the platform. Not only was the sketch credited as the first viral video, but it also established YouTube as a prominent website.
In 2005, “SNL” with the help of the comedy trio The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone), was able to consistently create digital shorts that would gain millions of views working with the likes of Natalie Portman, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and more.
Nearly 20 years later, “SNL” posts their sketches to YouTube and other social media platforms but doesn’t have the same steady viewership with their content.
Last year, host Keke Palmer and musical guest SZA, along with cast members, created the viral song “Big Boys,” which many people, to this day, don’t realize is a sketch.
Davidson’s episode had their parody of “I’m Just Ken” with “I’m Just Pete,” which was done expertly and hilariously.
But “SNL” today needs a new Lonely Island or cast members with recurring characters or bits that make first-time or casual viewers want to return for more.
They might be on the precipice of this.
Writing trio Please Don’t Destroy has recently received a slate in the show’s opening credits when one of their prerecorded sketches is in the night’s episode.
The reception to these sketches has mainly been positive, especially on social media. Their fast pace, use of hosts/celebrities, absurdist yet dry humor and ability to feel topically without relying on short trends are admirable.
Cast member Marcello Hernandez is the youngest of the group at “SNL” and is one of the show’s most apparent rising stars.
Bowen Yang has been the breakout of the past few seasons, and a role in the “Wicked” movie and other projects is likely the biggest, newest name in the cast.
I am a huge “SNL” nerd. Over the pandemic, I went back and watched from season 31 of the show and on.
And I can tell you, “SNL” has always been “SNL.” Every episode has a terrible sketch, a really good one and other decent ones.
What kept me watching the episodes of a variety show from nearly 20 years ago, filled with pop-culture and topical references I didn’t understand, was the cast.
I did this “SNL” rewind because I love Andy Samberg, and he famously joined the cast alongside Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis.
It was fun to see Hader and Samberg fight through a failing sketch, see Wiig and Sudeikis play off one another and watch Tina Fey and Amy Poehler become the first all-women “Weekend Update” team.
“SNL” let the cast be the reason people watched, and that’s why the era of the show launched so many A-list influential comedians we know today.
The digital age and the political landscape have worked to “SNL’s” advantage but also hindered the cultural staple in more ways than one.
“SNL” can rely on cameos and hosts to bring in viewers, but they must let the cast be the reason why someone comes back to watch the following week.
I don’t think “SNL” is going anywhere unless creator Lorne Michaels wants to pull the plug, but the executive producer has shown that he wants the show to go on when he steps down.
However, if “SNL” wants to stay relevant, it needs to have the younger generation at least be interested in tuning in. They need funny, viral content that isn’t just trendy. They need cast members the audience can root for, to shake the past era and come into their own.
Can they do it while they rake in viewers? Only time will tell.