
Almost a year after making his Saturday Night Live hosting debut, comedian Nate Bargatze returned to headline the second episode of the show’s 50th season. His screen time of more than 25 minutes amounted to over 40% of the episode’s overall running time and was a four-minute increase over his initial outing in Season 49.
Scroll down to see how Bargatze stacked up against each of the show’s named performers, including musical guest Coldplay and seven unannounced guests.
Note: Our screen time calculation method has been developed in partnership with longtime SNL statistician Mike Murray, host of the Saturday Night Network’s weekly By The Numbers podcast. We prioritize face time, meaning that any contiguous (off-screen but in-scene) moments and practically all partial body appearances do not count. Screen time in the opening credits, bumpers, goodnights, and cut-for-time sketches are also not included, nor do those portions factor into our assessment of the episode’s total running time.

Nate Bargatze – 25:42 / 40.87%
Bargatze directly follows John Mulaney (Seasons 43-44) on the list of people whose first two SNL hosting stints have occurred over consecutive seasons. Apart from his seven-minute monologue (which was two minutes shorter than the one he gave last year), he was most heavily utilized in “Washington’s Dream 2,” a prequel to the popular Season 49 sketch in which he played the titular Revolutionary War general.

Coldplay – 7:33 / 12.01%
Coldplay’s eighth SNL gig happened one day after the release of their 10th studio album, Moon Music. Lead singer Chris Martin, who gave a solo performance during 2020’s first of three SNL at Home episodes, only ranks behind Paul Simon (15) and Dave Grohl (14) in terms of SNL musical guest appearances.

Bowen Yang – 7:31 / 11.95%
Bowen Yang stands with Bargatze and Day in having participated in at least four of this episode’s 12 segments. Although he experienced a 22% screen time drop versus last week, he currently boasts the highest total for a Season 50 cast member, with “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost trailing him by nearly five minutes.

Mikey Day – 7:03 / 11.21%
Mikey Day ended up as this episode’s second most prominent cast member after finishing first on Bargatze’s initial outing. He was the only performer to appear in both of the night’s pretaped sketches: “Golf Tournament” and “Sushi Glory Hole.”

Marcello Hernandez – 6:21 / 10.10%
Recently promoted repertory player Marcello Hernandez tripled his season premiere screen time by taking part in three of this episode’s sketches. Almost three-quarters of his time was spent playing a parodic version of “Sabado Gigante” host Don Francisco.

Andy Samberg – 6:02 / 9.59%
After making his second consecutive cold open appearance as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, former cast member Andy Samberg gained two additional minutes of screen time in his first SNL Digital Short since 2018. He and his fellow Lonely Island members wrote and directed “Sushi Glory Hole,” which centered on a pair of entrepreneurs pitching the titular business idea to a panel of investors.

Jane Wickline – 5:43 / 9.09%
After giving a 13-second silent performance in a single season premiere segment, Jane Wickline became the first of this season’s three new featured players to appear in a sketch for more than one minute (“Water Park”) and to visit the “Weekend Update” desk. During the news segment, she performed an original song written from the perspective of a tactless party guest.

Heidi Gardner – 5:39 / 8.98%
Heidi Gardner now boasts the highest female screen time total of the season by a margin of over two minutes. In this case, more than 59% of her time was derived from her portrayal of Janie, a Smitty’s Burger Garage diner who decides to take their “Mile High Burger Challenge.”

Colin Jost – 5:01 / 7.98%
Jost was seen in 51% of this week’s installment of “Weekend Update,” constituting an increase of almost 5% over last week. He and his co-anchor Michael Che’s Season 50 screen time gap average now stands at two minutes and 37 seconds.

Maya Rudolph – 4:36 / 7.32%
Veteran cast member Maya Rudolph’s newest performance as Vice President Kamala Harris was less than half as long as the one she gave in this season’s first episode. Whereas she was in 76% of last week’s 13-minute cold open, she was only in 48% of this week’s eight-minute sketch.

Michael Longfellow – 4:03 / 6.44%
Michael Longfellow greatly improved upon his season premiere screen time of 23 seconds, which put him at the bottom of last week’s repertory cast member list. Between his portrayals of a tour official in “Golf Tournament” and a football player in “Coach Alan,” he spent over three minutes playing a resourceful EMT in “Water Park.”

Devon Walker – 3:05 / 4.90%
Like Longfellow, Devon Walker racked up more than three-quarters of his time this episode in “Water Park.” Before the two appeared together again as football teammates in “Coach Alan,” Walker briefly showed up as one of several satisfied “Sushi Glory Hole” patrons.

Tini – 3:04 / 4.88%
Pop artist Tini made her SNL debut almost six months after releasing her fifth full-length album, Un Mechon de Pelo. She joined Coldplay for their performance of the song “We Pray,” the studio version of which features her, Elyanna, Little Simz and Burna Boy.

Elyanna – 3:01 / 4.80%
Following the August 23 release of the main version of “We Pray,” Coldplay put out alternate edits featuring only Tini and Elyanna on September 6 and 20, respectively. Like Tini, first-time SNL performer Elyanna also released her own studio album this April, entitled Woledto.

Kenan Thompson – 3:00 / 4.77%
Longest-serving SNL cast member Kenan Thompson remains in the middle of this season’s cumulative screen time ranking after delivering a performance 33 seconds longer than his one last week. In addition to reprising his “Washington’s Dream” role alongside Bargatze, Day, Yang and James Austin Johnson, he performed with his former castmates Samberg and Rudolph in “Sushi Glory Hole.”

Chloe Fineman – 2:31 / 4.00%
Along with Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman is one of only two repertory cast members who has yet to appear in a single Season 50 sketch for more than 91 seconds. In this case, her screen time was primarily divided between her portrayals of CBS anchor Margaret Brennan in the cold open and model Maria in “Sabado Gigante.”

Andrew Dismukes – 2:30 / 3.98%
After earning the distinction of being the first cast member seen on screen this season, Andrew Dismukes tied with Sarah Sherman as one of the last two to show up in this episode. He amassed all of his screen time in the night’s final three sketches, the last and shortest of which (“Coach Alan”) featured him most prominently.

Michael Che – 2:25 / 3.84%
The sizable difference in the “Weekend Update” anchors’ screen times this week is largely due to the fact that the segment’s sole guest visited Jost’s side of the desk. Their 2:1 guest interaction ratio is already reminiscent of last season, which ended with Jost and Che having respectively led 24 to 10 guest interviews.

Sarah Sherman – 2:07 / 3.37%
Although she went from physically appearing in two sketches last week to just one this week, Sherman slightly improved upon her premiere screen time. In this case, she was primarily utilized in “Mile High Burger Challenge” as a witness to Gardner’s character’s attempt at the titular feat.

Jim Gaffigan – 1:58 / 3.13%
For the second week in a row, comedian Jim Gaffigan showed up during the cold open as vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. This performance, which involved him parodying Walz’s participation in this year’s only VP debate, was 26 seconds longer than the one he gave on September 28.

James Austin Johnson – 1:54 / 3.02%
Just over 84% of Johnson’s time in this episode was spent reprising his “Washington’s Dream” role as an 18th century U.S. soldier. Compared to the other men currently in the repertory cast, he has the lowest screen time total of the season so far, with Longfellow directly outpacing him by 35 seconds.

Dana Carvey – 1:46 / 2.81%
Dana Carvey’s second Season 50 performance as President Joe Biden was 26 seconds shorter than his first. This is now the third season after the former cast member’s 1993 departure in which he has appeared more than once, after Seasons 22 and 25.

Akiva Schaffer – 1:34 / 2.49%
Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer was last seen on SNL during the Season 39 finale, which included the digital short “Hugs.” Whereas that silent appearance only lasted seven seconds, his “Sushi Glory Hole” performance proved much more integral.

Ego Nwodim – 1:30 / 2.39%
Ego Nwodim went from being last week’s most heavily utilized female cast member to this week’s least prominent repertory player, only appearing once as model Sophia in “Sabado Gigante.” As it happens, she also ended up in the same position the last time Bargatze hosted, albeit with two minutes and 21 seconds of screen time that time.

Emil Wakim – 0:55 / 1.46%
Although he presently has the lowest Season 50 screen time total of any cast member, new featured player Emil Wakim narrowly avoided landing at the bottom of this list for the second week in a row. His two lengthiest sketch appearances yet were as minor characters in “Sabado Gigante” and “Coach Alan.”

Ashley Padilla – 0:51 / 1.35%
Ashley Padilla went from outpacing both of her fellow featured players last week to falling behind them this week. After being seen in three premiere week sketches, she appeared just once in this episode as model Estefania in “Sabado Gigante.”
Season 50 of SNL continues next week with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Stevie Nicks.
Can’t get enough SNL stats? Join us for an in-depth discussion of this week’s screen time, power rankings, and more on the Saturday Night Network’s By The Numbers podcast, streaming live Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, right here on LateNighter.