The first “Saturday Night Live" since Donald Trump's election victory began with the most somber of tones as a group of plainly dressed cast members, primarily women and minorities, described their new reality.
“To many people, including many people watching right now, the results were shocking and even horrifying,” Ego Nwodim soberly said.
“Donald Trump, who forcibly tried to overturn the results of the last election, was returned to office,” Heidi Gardner said.
“And now," Bowen Yang added, "thanks to the Supreme Court, there are no guardrails.”
Then came the swerve from the liberal-leaning show.
“That is why we at ‘SNL’ would like to say to Donald Trump, we have been with you all along," Keenan Thompson said.
Yang chimed in, “We have never wavered in our support for you, even when others doubted you.”
“Every single person on this stage believed in you,” Sarah Sherman said.
Marcello Hernández added, “Every single person on this stage voted for you.”
The cast members went on to effusively declare their reverence for, and obedience to, the former and future president, introducing a new character, “Hot, Jacked Trump.”
Cast member James Austin Johnson, who plays a dead-on Trump and was virtually guaranteed a long-term job by the election, came out as an Adonis-bodied president-elect.
“From now on we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump, because frankly he’s my hero," Johnson said in his Trump voice but speaking as himself. “He’s going to make an incredible president and eventually king.”
The episode, hosted by standup comic and actor Bill Burr, was the first all season that did not begin with former cast member Maya Rudolph, who played Vice President Kamala Harris in a giddy five-week run culminating with an appearance last week of Harris herself that began the show's 50th season and brought a ratings spike.
Burr, hosting after standup Dave Chappelle hosted the last two post-presidential election episodes, did his own feint in his monologue, saying, “I don’t watch politics” and doing some standard standup including an airplane bit before doubling back to the elephant in the studio, the election.
“Alright, let’s get to what you all want to talk about. Alright ladies, you’re 0-and-2 against this guy," he said. "But you learn more from your losses than your wins. So let’s get into the game tape. Ladies, enough with the pantsuit. Okay, it’s not working. Stop trying to have respect for yourself.”
He suggested candidates that were a least a little more scantily clad, saying, “I know a lot of ugly women — feminists, I mean — don’t want to hear this message.”
Burr was “so psyched that this stupid election is finally over. Everybody knew who they were going to vote for four years ago. Then they just dragged us through a year and a half of this stuff,” he said.
After Trump's first election victory in 2016, the show opening was serious and stayed that way with Kate McKinnon, who played Hillary Clinton on the show, appearing as the losing candidate sitting at the piano and singing a somber version Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah,” changing only one verse from the best-known versions of the song.
“And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the lord of song with nothing on my tongue but ‘Hallelujah,'” McKinnon sang in what became a national moment of catharsis for those on the losing side.
After finishing, McKinnon said in a shaky voice, “I'm not giving up and neither should you" before delivering the obligatory “live from New York, it's Saturday night!”
Rudolph made no appearance as Harris on this Saturday night, but former cast member Dana Carvey, who has played President Joe Biden all season, showed up as a leaping Elon Musk after the cast said they loved him, too.
After the opening, the sketches downshifted into standard, non-election “SNL” fare, except of course for the fake news “Weekend Update.”
“On Tuesday, we learned that Democrats don’t actually know how to rig an election," faux co-anchor Colin Jost said.
He later added, “If I know Democrats, they’re going to take a long look in the mirror, learn from their mistakes and run Biden again in 2028.”
Co-anchor Michael Che, who is Black, drank throughout the segment, saying he couldn’t believe people convinced him Harris could win over rural Pennsylvanians.
“Clearly I’ve been spending too much time with you white liberals and your goofy optimism,” Che said.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris appears on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," with Maya Rudolph, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 in New York. Harris has made an unannounced trip to New York to appear briefly stepping away from the battleground states she's been campaigning in with just three days to go before the election. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Bill Burr, a cast member in "Unfrosted," poses at the premiere of the Netflix film at the Egyptian Theatre, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
LeBron James and the NBA are going to have make room for the NFL on Christmas.
That shouldn't be a problem. Both leagues were winners on Wednesday.
Netflix set records as the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history while the NBA had its best holiday numbers in five years according to Nielsen.
The NFL and Nielsen said 65 million U.S. viewers tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two NFL games.
The Baltimore Ravens' 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million while Kansas City's 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 according to early viewer figures released by Nielsen on Thursday.
The NBA's five-game slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.
“I love the NFL,” James jokingly said in his televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.”
However, Wednesday's ratings showed that there is room for both.
Even though the NBA had the sports calendar to itself on Dec. 25 for many years, the NFL has made Christmas one of its tentpole events during the regular season, joining Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving.
Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, took James' comments in jest while also being joyful about the first season of the league's three-year partnership with Netflix.
“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this," he said. "But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years.”
Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.
Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The nearly 13-minute halftime performance averaged over 27 million viewers.
The viewer figures include the audience on Netflix, mobile viewership on NFL+ and those who tuned in on CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.
Global ratings and final U.S. numbers are expected to be available on Tuesday.
The NFL’s Christmas numbers decreased from last season, but not at the rate that usually happens when programming goes from broadcast to streaming.
Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS.
Once global and Netflix’s first-party data is released, both Christmas games are expected to surpass 30 million.
The games were the second- and third-most popular live titles in Netflix history, surpassed only by the Nov, 14 fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. That bout averaged a worldwide audience of 60 million and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, including 38 million concurrent streams in the United States.
There will be at least two NFL games on Christmas next year, but with the holiday falling on a Thursday it is more likely to be three with two afternoon and one prime time. The NFL has had three Thanksgiving Day games since 2006.
One of the biggest wins for Netflix on Wednesday: fewer streaming complaints it received. It seems the only gripe from most was that the stream did not immediately go to live action if someone tuned in after the game started.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, said in statement about the Chistmas broadcasts that the streaming service is thankful for the partnership with the NFL, the on-air talent, and "let’s please not forget the electrifying Beyoncé and the brilliant Mariah Carey.”
Beyoncé’s performance was trending number one worldwide socially on X , formerly known as Twitter. The hashtag #NFLonNetflix also trended around the world, reaching a peak of second in Australia, third in the United Kingdom and Germany, fifth in Brazil and France, and sixth in the U.S.
The NBA felt it had a banner day, announcing Thursday that all five Christmas games on its schedule — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama’s holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases.
The NBA’s lineup saw an 84% rise over 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were on ABC, compared to two last year.
The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors — a game pitting Olympic teammates James and Stephen Curry — averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked with about 8.32 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.
Those numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.
Wednesday’s numbers pushed NBA viewership for the season across ESPN platforms to up 4% over last season. The league also saw more than 500 million video views on its social media platforms Wednesday, a new record.
For the NBA, those are all good signs amid cries that NBA viewership is hurting.
“Ratings are down a bit at beginning of the season. But cable television viewership is down double digits so far this year versus last year,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month. “You know, we’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programing on streaming than they are on traditional television. And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which we enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.”
Part of that new package of television deals that the NBA is entering into next season also increases the number of regular season games broadcast on television from 15 to 75.
Under the 11-year agreement, ESPN and ABC will continue air the Christmas Day games.
AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
Beyoncé performs during halftime of an NFL football game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) speaks with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) after an NFL football game, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama (1), center, reacts as he sinks a three point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in New York. The basket was not counted after an officials review. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 117-114. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)
