Former Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney returned to host this week, becoming the 13th person to fill that role six times. Compared to his fifth outing in February 2022, his screen time in this episode was seven minutes shorter.
Scroll down to see how Mulaney stacked up against each of the show’s named performers, including musical guest Chappell Roan and seven uncredited 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 not included, nor do those portions factor into our assessment of the episode’s total running time.
John Mulaney – 20:36 / 32.92%
This week’s SNL was the first since November 12, 2022 to consist of only 10 segments. All three of the live sketches featuring Mulaney were based on ones from his previous hosting gigs, with his largest role being that of a singing cashier in “Port Authority Duane Reade.”
Chappell Roan – 8:18 / 13.27%
SNL first-timer Roan follows Jelly Roll as the second Season 50 musical guest to debut a new song on the show. Her first live performance of “The Giver” was preceded by a rendition of “Pink Pony Club,” which became a Top 40 hit this summer, four years after its initial release.
Michael Longfellow – 7:13 / 11.53%
Michael Longfellow’s relatively high November 2 screen time brings an end to his four-episode streak as this season’s least prominent repertory cast member. He is also the first of the three newest repertory players to outpace all of his fellow cast members in a Season 50 episode.
James Austin Johnson – 6:35 / 10.52%
Alongside Longfellow, Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernandez and Jane Wickline, James Austin Johnson belongs to the minority of cast members who had more screen time in this episode than the last. He spent nearly 28% of his time this week making his fourth cold open appearance of the season as Donald Trump.
Colin Jost – 6:05 / 9.72%
Despite falling behind Longfellow and Johnson this week, Colin Jost now boasts more Season 50 screen time than any other series regular, with Bowen Yang trailing him by one minute. Whereas he has conducted seven “Weekend Update” guest interviews so far this season, Michael Che has only led two.
Maya Rudolph – 5:59 / 9.56%
Two weeks after surpassing October 5 host Nate Bargatze as the performer with the most Season 50 screen time, Maya Rudolph has widened her lead from 30 to 119 seconds. She has now spent 27 minutes and 49 seconds playing Vice President Kamala Harris this season, while Johnson has only racked up seven minutes and 21 seconds as Trump.
Heidi Gardner – 4:15 / 6.79%
Heidi Gardner, who was the last repertory player to appear on screen in this episode, amassed over two-thirds of her screen time as Reba McEntire on “Weekend Update.” She was then utilized in the “Little Richard” and “New York City Council Campaign” sketches, the latter of which featured her as its off-screen narrator.
Sarah Sherman – 4:09/ 6.63%
Although Gardner narrowly outpaced her this week, Sarah Sherman remains this season’s most prominent female cast member. Like Longfellow and Johnson, her screen time in this episode was significantly boosted by her performance as an ensemble singer in “Port Authority Duane Reade.”
Marcello Hernandez – 3:57 / 6.31%
Hernandez participated in three segments this week, with the bulk of his screen time coming from his portrayal of “Weekend Update” character Grant. This marked his first Update appearance since the Season 49 finale, when he and Thompson were interviewed as a pair of cicadas.
Andrew Dismukes – 3:43 / 5.94%
Along with Sherman and Ego Nwodim, Andrew Dismukes was one of three cast members seen in both of this episode’s pretaped sketches (“Beppo” and “New York City Council Campaign”). He amassed over 90% of his screen time as one of two friends preparing for a Boston trip in “Port Authority Duane Reade.”
Jane Wickline – 3:30 / 5.59%
After Sherman, Jane Wickline is now the second cast member to have visited “Weekend Update” twice this season. She currently boasts nearly four minutes more Season 50 screen time than any other featured player.
Andy Samberg – 3:27 / 5.51%
After making his fourth cold open appearance as Doug Emhoff, former cast member Andy Samberg showed up in “Port Authority Duane Reade” as the dead bear Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dumped in Central Park. His Season 50 screen time now exceeds 18 minutes, putting him ahead of nine current cast members.
Pete Davidson – 3:20 / 5.23%
Pete Davidson’s first SNL appearance since hosting the Season 49 premiere involved him playing a major role in Mulaney’s sixth “New York Musical” sketch, “Port Authority Duane Reade.” He took part in the series’ first four entries as a cast member but did not return for the fifth, Season 47’s “Subway Churro.”
Bowen Yang – 3:13 / 5.14%
This week’s cold open was the fourth to feature Yang as Senator JD Vance, bringing his total screen time in that role to three minutes and 11 seconds. He later appeared as an inept bus driver in “Port Authority Duane Reade” and a PBS host in “Little Richard.”
Kenan Thompson – 2:55 / 4.66%
Thompson experienced a 17% screen time increase compared to last week by playing sizable roles in two live sketches. After showing up in “Port Authority Duane Reade” to sing a “Circle of Life” parody in an opossum costume, he debuted an impression of the titular musician in “Little Richard.”
Michael Che – 2:29 / 3.97%
Che was seen in 20.36% of this week’s “Weekend Update” segment, up 2.11% from last week. His and Jost’s Season 50 screen time gap average has risen to 2:46, while almost 14 minutes separate their season totals.
Chloe Fineman – 2:04 / 3.30%
Although Chloe Fineman’s November 2 screen time is her lowest of the season, she remains one of only seven cast members to hit the two-minute mark in all five episodes so far. After opening the show with her third performance this season as CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, she appeared for at least 40 seconds each in “Port Authority Duane Reade” and “Little Richard.”
Ego Nwodim – 1:47 / 2.85%
Over 85% of Nwodim’s screen time in this episode was spent playing Thompson’s opossum partner in “Port Authority Duane Reade.” She was also seen as a Katherine Johnson-esque mathematician in “Beppo” and a Harvey Epstein supporter in “New York City Council Campaign.”
Mikey Day – 1:38 / 2.61%
This was the third Season 50 episode in which Mikey Day’s screen time fell below 100 seconds. Along with Dismukes, Longfellow and Sherman, he is one of four performers who have physically appeared in both of Dan Bulla’s “Midnight Matinee” sketches (“Beppo” this week, and October 12’s “My Best Friend’s House”).
Kamala Harris – 1:29 / 2.37%
The sitting vice president’s SNL debut was instantly met with 30 seconds of sustained applause. She has the potential to follow Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the third future president to appear on the show.
Emil Wakim – 1:12 / 1.92%
Emil Wakim’s November 2 screen time was fairly evenly split between two sketches: “Beppo” and “Port Authority Duane Reade.” He is now the first of this season’s new featured players to appear in 10 total sketches.
Tim Kaine – 1:08 / 1.81%
Virginia senator Tim Kaine appeared as himself in “What’s That Name: Election Edition,” the fourth iteration of the game show sketch. Though he had previously been impersonated by Day on two occasions, this was the former vice presidential candidate’s first actual SNL appearance.
Jim Gaffigan – 1:00 / 1.60%
Jim Gaffigan’s fourth cold open performance as VP hopeful Tim Walz was four seconds away from being his shortest. His Season 50 screen time total now stands at five minutes and 27 seconds.
Dana Carvey – 0:52 / 1.39%
Cast veteran Dana Carvey’s fifth consecutive cold open appearance as Joe Biden brought his Season 50 screen time total to eight minutes and four seconds. The only people who have played the 46th president in more SNL episodes are Jim Carrey (six), Johnson (seven) and Jason Sudeikis (23).
Devon Walker – 0:40 / 1.07%
Having clocked in under 62 seconds for the third week in a row, Devon Walker is now at the bottom of the Season 50 repertory player screen time list. His only appearance in this episode was as NYC Mayor Eric Adams in “Port Authority Duane Reade.”
Ashley Padilla – 0:06 / 0.16%
Featured player Ashley Padilla, who was absent from this season’s third episode, narrowly avoided the same fate by showing up in “New York City Council Campaign” just three minutes before the show ended. At this point in the season, nearly two and a half minutes separate her from her fellow new hires, Wickline and Wakim.
Season 50 of SNL continues next week with host Bill Burr and musical guest Mk.gee.
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.
