‘SNL’ Reveals Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden in Cold Open With Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris

The query of who would play Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff on “Saturday Evening Dwell” was answered instantly on Saturday night time because the sketch comedy sequence kicked off its fiftieth season.

Jim Gaffigan joined Maya Rudolph within the season premiere chilly open because the affable Minnesota Governor and Harris’ working mate, whereas Andy Samberg appeared because the Second Gentleman. Additionally, Dana Carvey debuted his Joe Biden impression on “SNL.”

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“SNL” solid member James Austin Johnson returned as Donald Trump, and Bowen Yang stepped in as his working mate, JD Vance. Andrew Dismukes performed journalist David Muir and cracked a joke concerning the ABC Information debate being “biased towards the Democrats, which … duh.”

Within the sketch, Rudolph introduced again America’s “enjoyable aunt,” aka the “Funt.” “The Funt has been rebooted,” Rudolph mentioned. “2 Funt, 2 Livid.” As Walz, Gaffigan quipped: “In Minnesota we’ve a saying: ‘Thoughts your rattling enterprise.’ We even have one other saying in Minnesota: ‘My nuts froze to the park bench.”

As Emhoff, Samberg deemed himself the “Second Gentlemensch” and made a joke about adorning the White Home for Christmas: “The theme is Hanukkah.”

Carvey performed a stuttering, confused Biden, quipping, “Lots of people neglect I’m president. Even me!” After Rudolph thanked “J’Biden” for “placing the nation first and for handing over the reins,” Carvey mentioned, “I didn’t need to! They made me.”

Quickly after Harris introduced Walz as her working mate, individuals started dream-casting the position on “SNL” Whereas Gaffigan and Steve Martin had been two of the most-repeated names, Martin mentioned in an interview that “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels to play Walz on the present. Martin turned it down: “I mentioned, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You want somebody who can actually nail the man.’ I used to be picked as a result of I’ve grey hair and glasses.”

Emhoff was beforehand portrayed by Martin Quick in a Passover-themed sketch from 2021. In an August 2024 with Esquire, Emhoff mentioned that “SNL” wants a “good Doug character” main as much as the election. “I’m pondering Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth. You already know, individuals who look precisely like me,” he joked.

Samberg was a solid member on “SNL” from 2005 to 2012 however has not made an look on the present since 2018. (He solely hosted as soon as after his tenure, in 2014.)

Rudolph’s return to “Saturday Evening Dwell” as Vice President Harris was , only a week after she introduced her bid for the presidency following Joe Biden’s dropping out of the race. Rudolph first performed Harris on “SNL” in December 2019, profitable the Emmy for visitor actress in a comedy sequence regardless of solely having a number of traces in a presidential debate sketch. She returned all through the 2020 election cycle to play Harris alongside Jim Carrey’s Biden.

An “SNL” mainstay from 2000 to 2007, Rudolph performed Harris once more when she hosted the sequence in March 2021, which earned her one more Emmy for visitor actress in a comedy sequence. (She was nominated once more for her newest internet hosting stint on Could 11, 2024.)

Rudolph broke down how she crafted her model of Harris in her in September. “I mentioned, ‘Once I see her, I see her having enjoyable,’” she mentioned. “And so the fictional Kamala that we created tapped into her enjoyable. After which [‘SNL’ producer] Steve Higgins mentioned to me that his spouse referred to as her a ‘enjoyable aunt,’ and we had been laughing at how that feels like ‘funt.’ We simply went from there. That was the second the place you notice, ‘Oh, now I understand how to do that.’”

“Saturday Evening Dwell” kicked off its fiftieth season on Sept. 28 with host Jean Sensible and musical visitor Jelly Roll. The enduring sketch comedy sequence will have a good time its massive anniversary with a dwell primetime particular on Feb. 16. The sequence airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams on Peacock.

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