Saturday Night Live Season 50 is officially here! And what better way to inaugurate such a milestone than with the passionate and hilarious return of Maya Rudolph, reprising her role as Kamala Harris. Marking the return of many famous faces and SNL veterans, the show debuted its 50th edition, coinciding with the election season.
Rudolph’s return was already known about and included a role for now-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. While Jim Gaffigan starred as Kamala’s partner Tim Walz, a role previously turned down by Steve Martin, Dana Carvey played President Joe Biden and Andy Samberg played Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff.
Rudolph, dressed as Harris, began addressing the audience in reference to Harris’ viral quote, saying, “Look who fell out of that coconut tree. Well, your funny aunt is back.” Her 2020 drama performance as the Vice President earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
He continued his speech, “You see, my campaign is like Sabrina Carpenter’s song Espresso. The lyrics are vague but the vibe slaps.”
Current SNL cast member James Austin Johnson continued to play Donald Trump, while Bowen Yang played Trump’s partner J.D. Vance. However, the biggest surprise of the night was Dana Carvey’s return to the stage as US President Joe Biden.
In the skit, Rudolph’s Harris welcomed Carvey’s Biden as the final guest when he joked, “A lot of people forget I’m the president, including me.”
Carvey, who worked on SNL for 7 years between 1986 and 1993, is best known for his impression of President George H.W. In 2011, when Carvey last hosted an episode on SNL, he participated in a few skits, but did not return to SNL until 2016.
Gene Smart was the host of the season 50 premiere with musical guest Jelly Roll. In her monologue, she joked that although she had always wanted to host a sketch comedy show, this was the first and only Saturday that suited her schedule.
Due to another exodus of Punky Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloë Trost, Saturday Night Live season 50 began with three new faces – Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jen Wickline. SNL will return next Saturday with comedian Nate Bargatz in the hosting chair, while Coldplay will perform as a musical guest.
Also read: Saturday Night Live Season 50: Stars like Ariana Grande, Chappelle Rhone, Jean Smart added to the lineup
