Editor’s note: Mike Murray hosts The Saturday Night Network’s weekly By the Numbers Podcast. Click the embed at the top of this post to watch it live Wednesday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT, or catch the replay afterwards.
Returning to Studio 8H this week for her first hosting gig in nearly a decade, Amy Poehler made up for lost time as she became the show’s first non-standup host to surpass 25 mins in screen time since Jake Gyllenhaal in the Season 49 finale (excluding double duty hosts).
Scroll down to see how Poehler stacked up against each of the show’s named performers this week, including musical guest Role Model and four unannounced guests.
Note: Our screen time calculation method prioritizes 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.
Amy Poehler – 25:10 (40.9%)
In her third hosting stint, Poehler led the Cold Open as AG Pam Bondi, gave a nostalgic monologue, appeared in every live sketch, and even dropped by the Weekend Update desk with her two former co-anchors, Tina Fey and Seth Meyers.
Sarah Sherman – 08:04 (13.1%)
This week saw Sherman lead the cast in screen time for the first time since Dave Chappelle hosted this past January. She made her 18th appearance at the Weekend Update desk, debuting a new character, “Concerned New Yorker Rhona LaCenzo.”
Role Model – 07:13 (11.7%)
The Maine native performed two songs in his SNL debut: “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” and “Some Protector.”
Colin Jost – 06:35 (10.7%)
After leading the cast in screen time for the last three episodes, Jost fell back to second place this week but still racked up an impressive number as he shared the desk not only with co-anchor Che, but also with predecessors Poehler, Fey, and Meyers.
James Austin Johnson – 05:17 (8.6%)
This was the first show in seven episodes that Johnson did not appear as Trump. He still anchored the Pam Bondi Cold Open as Sen. Chuck Grassley, reunited with frequent collaborator Dismukes in “Experienced Lawyers,” and played an unfazed dad to Poehler’s “Emo Mom.”
Bowen Yang – 05:17 (8.6%)
Yang appeared in five of the six live sketches, most notably as Mr. Rudeman in “The Rudemans” and as Poehler’s television composing partner in “Theme Songs Masterclass.”
Ashley Padilla – 05:09 (8.4%)
With an impressive eight appearances this week, Padilla is pulling more than her weight early in her second season as a featured player. Her previous record was six appearances (twice in her rookie year).
Michael Che – 04:32 (7.4%)
Che saw a 37% reduction in screen time compared to last week, coming in just ten seconds over his Season 50 per-episode average of 4:22.
Andrew Dismukes – 04:26 (7.2%)
Dismukes led a pretape early in the night with “Non-Alcoholic Beer” after leading “The Rudemans.” He’s averaging 06:21 of screen time over the last 11 episodes.
Jane Wickline – 04:09 (6.7%)
After being the sole shutout of the season premiere, Wickline made a comeback this week with five appearances, including the third outing for Alyssa—one half of “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together”—on Weekend Update.
Chloe Fineman – 03:56 (6.4%)
Fineman led the women of the cast in Week 1 with 07:06 of screen time. This week, she finished fourth behind Sherman, Padilla, and Wickline. Her most prominent appearance came in the second pretape of the night, “The Hunting Wives Season Two.”
Ben Marshall – 03:45 (6.1%)
Marshall was the bounce-back player of the week, going from a “blink and you miss it” debut last week (00:12) to popping up everywhere in Week 2, making seven appearances (second in the cast behind only Padilla’s eight).
Jeremy Culhane – 03:31 (5.7%)
Culhane more than doubled his premiere screen time (01:37), coming in first this week among the show’s four true rookies.
Tina Fey – 03:15 (5.3%)
Fey made two cameos alongside her comedy partner Poehler, including a big entrance in the Cold Open as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem,
Marcello Hernández – 03:01 (4.9%)
The star of the Bad Bunny premiere, Hernández saw a reduced role in Week 2, with most of his screen time (2:29 ) coming at Weekend Update alongside Wickline as Grant in “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together.”
Tommy Brennan – 02:41 (4.4%)
Brennan logged his first live sketch appearances with lines in the Cold Open as Sen. Dick Durbin and a larger supporting role in “Work Birth.” His screen time increased 178% compared to last week’s quiet debut.
Mikey Day – 02:37 (4.3%)
In a night where the newbies excelled, many of the show’s veterans saw less screen time, including Day, who finished 02:40 below his Season 50 average.
Seth Meyers – 01:39 (2.7%)
Meyers made his first cameo since the Season 39 finale (2014), joining the Weekend Update Joke-Off after being introduced by Poehler as her “second wife.” He also hosted in 2018 and appeared in the SNL 50th Anniversary special.
Kam Patterson – 01:37 (2.6%)
Following his debut at the Weekend Update desk last week, Patterson made six appearances this week, averaging about 16 seconds each.
Kenan Thompson – 01:21 (2.2%)
Thompson, a castmate of Poehler’s from 2003 to 2008, had a surprisingly light night—briefly appearing in “Work Birth” as a UPS driver and in the final sketch playing the keytar as “Theotus McNamara.”
Veronika Slowikowska – 01:04 (1.7%)
Slowikowska got her first chance to team with the women of the show—appearing alongside Padilla and Fineman in “Experienced Lawyers,” and with host Poehler in “Fast Psychic.”
Charli XCX – 00:36 (1.0%)
Charli XCX’s cameo came in the first musical performance, dancing as the titular “Sally” in Role Model’s “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” She wore the same “Max’s Kansas City” T-shirt that Role Model sported in the Thursday promo.
Aubrey Plaza – 00:31 (0.9%)
Poehler’s Parks and Recreation co-star, Plaza made a pretape appearance in “The Hunting Wives Season 2.” Plaza returned the favor after Poehler dropped by when Plaza hosted in Season 48.
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