Olivia Rodrigo Drives SNL Ratings to Near Season-High

Olivia Rodrigo SNL — Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC

First on LateNighter: Olivia Rodrigo’s SNL double duty debut drew an impressive audience, with the 23-year-old pop star drawing the season’s second-highest overall ratings to date.

Per Nielsen Live+Same Day data, Saturday Night Live’s May 2 episode drew an average of 5 million total viewers and 1.1 million viewers aged 18–49.

That’s a 20% increase in total audience and a 31% increase in the advertiser-coveted demo from the show’s April 11 episode (with host Colman Domingo and musical guest Anitta).

Year-over-year, compared to SNL‘s May 3, 2025 episode (with host Quinta Brunson and musical guest Benson Boone), this weekend’s episode was up 15% among total viewers and up a whopping 45% in the demo.

Among the 18 SNL episodes to air so far this season, Rodrigo’s episode ranks No. 2 in total viewers (behind the Ariana Grande-hosted Christmas episode) and No. 3 among viewers aged 18–49 (with only the Christmas episode and the Bad Bunny / Doja Cat season opener faring better).

As always, bottom-line viewership will rise when Live+3 numbers—which include delayed viewing—come in. (For example, per Nielsen, the show’s April 11 episode gained 1.8 million total viewers in the three days following its broadcast, with Live+3 figures topping out at 5.9 million total viewers, while demo viewership grew by 34% to 1.1 million viewers.)

It’s also worth noting that linear ratings are just one piece of the pie, especially among younger viewers. Live+Same Day figures do not include live viewing on Peacock or social media, nor do they account for the show’s YouTube performance, where this weekend’s “Hegseth and Patel Iran Press Briefing Cold Open” had been viewed more than 6.7 million times as of Wednesday afternoon.

Among the headlines to emerge from this weekend’s episode was Aziz Ansari’s debut as the show’s Kash Patel, and the revelation that Andrew Dismukes‘ “Rasta Driver” character took inspiration from a real-life Reggaeton MC.

SNL returns this weekend with the second of this season’s final three episodes with host Matt Damon and musical guest Noah Kahan.

Episode-by-episode Nielsen ratings charts for SNL’s 51st season follow below.

Live+SD Ratings – All Viewers (P2+)

Date	Host / Music Guest	Avg Viewers (000’s)	Avg Share %
5/2/26	Olivia Rodrigo	4,993	15.89
4/11/26	Colman Domingo / Anitta	4,148	13.00
4/4/26	Jack Black / Jack White	4,500	13.12
3/14/26	Harry Styles	4,792	13.70
3/7/26	Ryan Gosling / Gorillaz	4,342	14.31
2/28/26	Connor Storrie / Mumford & Sons	4,611	19.26
1/31/26	Alexander Skarsgård / Cardi B	4,820	15.18
1/24/26	Teyana Taylor / Geese	4,437	14.42
1/17/26	Finn Wolfhard / A$AP Rocky	4,140	15.19
12/20/25	Ariana Grande / Cher	5,404	16.83
12/13/25	Josh O’Connor / Lily Allen	3,949	13.08
12/6/25	Melissa McCarthy / Dijon	4,304	12.62
11/15/25	Glen Powell / Olivia Dean	4,165	14.41
11/8/25	Nikki Glaser / sombr	4,023	13.75
11/1/25	Miles Teller / Brandi Carlile	3,496	7.47
10/18/25	Sabrina Carpenter	4,248	14.67
10/11/25	Amy Poehler / Role Model	4,369	14.05
10/4/25	Bad Bunny / Doja Cat	4,634	14.99

Live+SD Ratings – In the Demo (P18-49)

Date	Host / Music Guest	Avg Viewers (000s)	Avg Share %
5/2/26	Olivia Rodrigo	1,104	16.94
4/11/26	Colman Domingo / Anitta	842	12.43
4/4/26	Jack Black / Jack White	1,040	13.74
3/14/26	Harry Styles	942	12.16
3/7/26	Ryan Gosling / Gorillaz	817	12.87
2/28/26	Connor Storrie / Mumford & Sons	1,029	15.19
1/31/26	Alexander Skarsgård / Cardi B	950	14.32
1/24/26	Teyana Taylor / Geese	695	11.06
1/17/26	Finn Wolfhard / A$AP Rocky	858	14.53
12/20/25	Ariana Grande / Cher	1,224	17.71
12/13/25	Josh O’Connor / Lily Allen	710	11.23
12/6/25	Melissa McCarthy / Dijon	746	9.87
11/15/25	Glen Powell / Olivia Dean	799	13.48
11/8/25	Nikki Glaser / sombr	733	11.97
11/1/25	Miles Teller / Brandi Carlile	605	4.98
10/18/25	Sabrina Carpenter	938	14.92
10/11/25	Amy Poehler / Role Model	893	12.91
10/4/25	Bad Bunny / Doja Cat	1,125	16.33