Entertainment

‘Saturday Night Live’ to take on a second Trump term after focusing on Harris

November 9, 2024 4:59 pm

[Source: AP]

“Saturday Night Live” is likely to strike a new tone as it looks toward a second term for Donald Trump in its first episode since his election victory.

Standup comic and actor Bill Burr will host for the second time with Mk.gee as musical guest.

But most eyes will be on the NBC sketch institution’s cold open, and the signal it gives about what four more years will mean for the generally liberal-leaning show, other than steady employment for cast member James Austin Johnson, who does a Trump impression that has become definitive.

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In the first five episodes of its 50th season, which has seen a ratings spike, the show openings made Vice President Kamala Harris — played by returning cast member Maya Rudolph — the central star, culminating last week in an appearance by Harris herself, with a giddy pre-election energy in the air.

This Saturday night could be a little less live.

After Trump’s first election victory in 2016, Kate McKinnon, who played Hillary Clinton on the show, appeared as the losing candidate sitting at the piano and sang an almost entirely somber-and-serious version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” changing only one verse from the best-known versions of the song.