Nielsen live-plus-seven-day data for Ryan Gosling’s Saturday Night Live episode has arrived, and the results are positive.
With Gosling as host, and Chris Stapleton as musical guest, the April 13, 2024 edition of SNL delivered 7,510,000 linear viewers. That represents the show’s largest total linear audience since Dec. 10, 2022, when Steve Martin and Martin Short were co-hosts, and Brandi Carlile was the musical guest. Additionally, the Gosling-led episode delivered 1,727,000 P18-49 linear viewers, the show’s largest P18-49 linear audience since Oct. 14, 2023, when Pete Davidson hosted the Season 49 premiere.
The Gosling-SNL story is even stronger if one takes into account episode viewing across digital platforms: 8.9 million total viewers and 2.64 million P18-49 viewers. Not only do the 8.9 million and 2.64 million represent season highs for the show, but the 8.9 million is SNL’s largest cross-platform audience since Dec. 11, 2021, when Billie Eilish was both the host and musical guest. The 2.64 million represents the show’s largest P18-49 cross-platform audience since Nov. 12, 2022, when Dave Chappelle was host, and Black Star was the musical guest.
NBC also says the Gosling episode was SNL’s most watched ever on Peacock (although no data was provided to go with the network’s claim).
The Gosling episode garnered rave reviews , and was memorable for a variety of reasons. The star actor delivered his monologue alongside his Fall Guy co-star Emily Blunt. Kate McKinnon returned to the show during the cold open for a Close Encounter sketch with Gosling. Additionally, Gosling (and several cast members) ended up breaking during several sketches throughout the show, including a Beavis and Butthead-themed sketch. Plus, fresh off her national championship game appearance, basketball star Caitlin Clark made her SNL debut during the Gosling episode in the form of a Weekend Update cameo.
