First on LateNighter: Anyone who took last week’s post-election cold open in which the cast pledged faux-fealty to Donald Trump as a sign that Saturday Night Live would be stepping away from politics as we head into a second Trump presidency would appear to be mistaken.
According to sources on the ground at 30 Rock, the show is preparing a sketch for tonight’s show based on Donald Trump’s visit with Joe Biden at the White House earlier this week.
Biden welcomed Trump back to The Oval Office Wednesday, where the two presidents greeted each other cordially in front of press pool cameras. Biden was seen pledging his commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, with Trump responding “I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as you can get.” The two adversaries then met behind closed doors for two hours.
We don’t know how SNL plans to spoof the meeting and/or whether this news signals another appearance from Dana Carvey, who has played Biden since the start of Season 50, but a set resembling a room at Trump’s Mar a Lago resort has also been spotted on the floor of Studio 8H.
With the president-elect announcing his cabinet nominees at breakneck speed this week, viewers have been fan-casting who might end up playing the likes of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Matt Gaetz. (As we’ve reported, both Colin Jost and SNL alum Pete Davidson are leading contenders for Gaetz.)
Political intrigue aside, tonight’s Charli xcx-hosted Saturday Night Liv promises to be an interesting one. Sunday is Lorne Michaels’ birthday, which means the show’s legendary EP will be at the helm of his signature creation at the stroke of midnight as he turns 80 years old. It remains to be seen whether his landmark birthday will be acknowledged on air.
