Starting on an uncharacteristically sobering note, the first new Saturday Night Live since Donald Trump’s election win brought ratings highs. Even with the recent presidential campaign no longer a fount of humor, the show still managed to improve on recent numbers.
Comedian Dave Chappelle’s first time hosting the venerable NBC sketch show earned an overnight 6.2 rating among households and a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49. That’s the best showing in the key demo since the Jimmy Fallon-hosted Christmas episode in 2013.
With Hillary Clinton’s surprise loss on Tuesday, Kate McKinnon reprised her take on the former Secretary of State for the somber cold open, where she paid tribute to Clinton and to the late singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen with a cover of his song “Hallelujah.”
Season-to-date, Saturday Night Live is having its best run, at this point in a season, in 24 years. With live-plus-seven-day ratings, the show is averaging 11.4 million weekly viewers and a 3.6 rating in the key demo.
