SNL fans hail presidential election candidates as “greatest casting in history”

With the premiere of Saturday Night Live Season 50, fans can’t stop praising the casting choices for the 2024 U.S. presidential candidates on the show.

As the United States heads into its 2024 presidential election season, it can be hard to find things to laugh at and agree on, but SNL is back on the small screen to help with that issue.

The series premiered its first episode of Season 50 on September 28 and, during its cold open, introduced the world to its cast who will be playing certain significant political figures going forward.

The skit began with the reintroduction of SNL alumni Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris and the first time inclusion of Andy Samberg as her husband Douglas Emhoff in what one fan called the “greatest casting in #SNL history.”

Although Rudolph has been playing the role of Harris for SNL since 2019, many fans praised her for nailing the vice president’s cadence as one viewer posted on X/Twitter, “Oh my word… Maya Rudolph’s voice work of the @VP has gotten INCREDIBLE. I did a double take on some of those lines because it sounded SO much like her. #SNL.”

The cold open also featured fellow SNL alumni Dana Carvey as current U.S. president Joe Biden, comedian Jim Gaffigan as Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, and current SNL cast members James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang as Donald Trump and vice president nominee J.D. Vance, respectively.

Although Samberg’s return to SNL was a huge talking point of the night, a handful of viewers praised Yang’s inclusion in the small cast with one fan writing, “Whoever at SNL suggested Bowen Yang play J.D. Vance deserves a f**king raise.”

NBC

Much like Rudolph, Johnson is also reprising his Trump role as he took over the position from actor Alec Baldwin, who played the president while he was in office.

However, the Johnson’s Trump impression for this election cycle will be entirely different from what fans saw last season as SNL creator Lorne Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter, “James, who I think is brilliant, played Trump as the sort of diminished Trump. The guy at the back of the hardware store holding court, and that played because it felt relevant. But we are going to have to reinvent it again because, well, you saw the debate.”

All six actors will continue to appear as these characters in episodes of Saturday Night Live in varying degrees until the U.S. Election on November 5, 2024.

For more, check out our guide to the most binge-worthy TV shows, the best shows to stream in September, and all the new true crime and documentaries streaming this month.