Bill Burr returned for his second time hosting Saturday Night Live on November 9, 2024, logging a whopping six-plus minutes more screen than his first SNL hosting gig in 2020. Scroll down to see how he stacked up against each of the show’s other named performers this week, including musical guest Mk.gee and returning SNL alum Dana Carvey.
A reminder: 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.
Bill Burr – 24:18 / 38.63%
This SNL episode was the first since the Season 49 finale to consist of 13 segments, 11 of which involved Burr. When he last hosted four seasons ago, he appeared in seven out of 10 segments and played exactly half as many characters as he did on his second outing.
Kenan Thompson – 11:17 / 17.94%
After clocking in under five minutes in each of this season’s five preceding episodes, Kenan Thompson logged more screen time this weekend than he has since the Season 49 premiere. In addition to racking up nearly two and a half minutes in the cold open, he appeared as “Weekend Update” character Willie for the 10th time overall and first time since December 2020.
Bowen Yang – 8:47 / 13.96%
Bowen Yang has now pulled ahead of Colin Jost and Maya Rudolph as the performer with the most cumulative screen time this season. He and Jost remain the only series regulars who have not yet landed below three minutes in a single Season 50 episode.
Andrew Dismukes – 7:41 / 12.22%
Although he was one of only six cast members who didn’t take part in this week’s cold open, Andrew Dismukes amassed a great deal of screen time over five subsequent sketches. Until this week, he had yet to appear in more than 8.75% of a single episode this season.
Colin Jost – 6:29 / 10.31%
In addition to appearing in 44.49% of this week’s “Weekend Update” segment, Jost was seen for 58 seconds as himself in the cold open. The last non-Update sketch in which he participated was the Mother’s Day 2024 opener, where he appeared for 22 seconds alongside his mom.
Mk.gee – 6:21 / 10.10%
Mk.gee’s SNL debut comes seven months after he made his first-ever TV appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He clocked in with less screen time than any of this season’s previous musical guests, with his performance of “Alesis” being the shortest musical segment of the season so far.
Ego Nwodim – 6:13 / 9.88%
This episode was the first since November 18, 2023 in which Ego Nwodim outpaced every other female repertory player’s screen time. She also holds the distinction of being the first person to play two characters on “Weekend Update” this season. (Sarah Sherman and Jane Wickline have also appeared twice on Update, but each played themselves in one of their two appearances.)
Ashley Padilla – 5:41 / 9.04%
Featured player Ashley Padilla gave her longest sketch performance so far (3:19) in this week’s “I Got One.” She is still the lowest-ranking cast member in terms of combined Season 50 screen time, with her time in this episode amounting to 55% of her overall total.
James Austin Johnson – 5:09 / 8.19%
James Austin Johnson is one of five cast members who ended up with less screen time in this episode than the last. After appearing for half a minute as “Hot Jacked Trump” in the cold open, he was utilized in four live and two pretaped sketches for an average of 46 seconds each.
Michael Che – 4:54 / 7.79%
Michael Che’s highest screen time of the season can partly be attributed to his and Jost’s equitable “Weekend Update” guest interview time with Thompson and Nwodim, respectively. He appeared in 39.52% of this week’s latest news segment, bringing his season average up to 27.87%.
Heidi Gardner – 4:39 / 7.39%
This marked the fourth instance of Heidi Gardner hitting the four-minute mark this season. She spent over 81% of her time appearing as herself in the cold open and playing mental health specialist Katie Sullivan in “Rorschach Test.”
Sarah Sherman – 4:23 / 6.97%
Sherman’s lead over Gardner on the list of Season 50’s most prominent female cast members has now shrunk to just 13 seconds. Her three appearances in this episode were of relatively equal length, with the longest being in the cold open.
Emil Wakim – 4:17 / 6.81%
Like Padilla, new featured player Emil Wakim gave his longest sketch performance to date in this episode, specifically in “Sex Rock CD” (2:01). He was used in a total of six November 9 sketches, bringing his overall total to 16.
Michael Longfellow – 3:31 / 5.59%
Michael Longfellow appeared on screen almost half the time that put him at the top of last week’s cast member ranking. Before briefly appearing in “Bald Guys,” he accumulated nearly 74% of his time as a knockoff Will Hunting in “The Janitor.”
Marcello Hernandez – 3:22 / 5.35%
The bulk of Marcello Hernandez’s performance in this week’s episode was contained within the cold open. After then playing small parts in “Rorschach Test” and “Buffalo Wild Wings,” he was absent from the night’s final nine segments.
Mikey Day – 2:56 / 4.66%
Despite showing up in just two sketches this week, Mikey Day nearly doubled his screen time from last week. Before playing the only non-bald male character in “Bald Guys,” he appeared in “Buffalo Wild Wings,” reprising his role from Season 46’s “Sam Adams” as the son of uncouth Bostonian Sean (Burr).
Devon Walker – 2:24 / 3.82%
Although he achieved more screen time this episode than the last three combined, Devon Walker remains this season’s least prominent repertory cast member. He was, however, not the most underutilized repertory player in this episode, as Chloe Fineman was completely absent from every sketch. (She did appear in goodnights.)
Dana Carvey – 0:49 / 1.30%
This episode featured Carvey’s sixth cold open appearance this season, albeit as Elon Musk rather Joe Biden. The former cast member’s Season 50 total now stands as eight minutes and 53 seconds.
Jane Wickline – 0:48 / 1.27%
Despite falling far behind Padilla and Wakim this time, Jane Wickline still ranks as the featured player with the most Season 50 screen time. She shared the screen with both of her fellow new hires in the cold open and “Trauma Support Group.”
Season 50 of SNL continues next week with host and musical guest Charli XCX.
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.
