‘SNL’ Kicks Off Season 50 With Star-Studded Cold Open About Politics, Of Course

cnn
—

“Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 50th season with a predictably star-studded cold open that focused on the upcoming presidential election, lampooning rallies held by candidates for Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Maya Rudolph, reprising her role as Harris, joked that her campaign was no different from Sabrina Carpenter’s summer hit “Espresso”: “the lyrics are vague but the vibes hit.”

Rudolph was joined on stage during the sketch by three big-name guest stars: Jim Gaffigan as Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden.

Like Walz, Gaffigan took advantage of the Minnesota governor’s good reputation, joking at one point in his exuberant Midwestern accent: “This suit is from Costco. It’s a Kirkland brand. “They make great dog food.”

Samberg, meanwhile, drew laughs with lines like: “I’m proud to join the esteemed list of presidential spouses throughout history, women and men, but they’re all women.”

In the other half of the sketch, James Austin Johnson reprized his role as Trump, who in the clip was speaking at his own rally, and the crowd behind him slowly thinned out as he entered his third hour of speech.

Before introducing his running mate, Johnson joked as Trump said, “People say it’s a bad choice and in many ways it was.”

Then cast member Bowen Yang appeared, playing Senator JD Vance.

“How much do we love Donald Trump? Just this afternoon he told me, ‘JD, you’re like a son to me because I don’t like you and I’m stuck with you,’” Bowen joked to Vance.

Jean Smart hosted the season premiere with musical guest Jelly Roll.