‘SNL’s’ Return With John Krasinski Posts Average Ratings

Following a long layoff, Saturday Night Live returned to live broadcasts Saturday night. There was certainly a lot of material to tackle. Since the last original episode on Dec. 19, the nation weathered the Capitol riots and swore in a new president.

There was certainly lots of fodder for satire, but with the election over, so was the viewership surge that accompanies an election year. First-time host John Krasinski scored decent but unremarkable ratings in his debut.

The first live SNL telecast of 2021 averaged a 4.4 household rating, according to Nielsen live plus same day numbers in the 44 metered markets. That matched the Dec. 19 episode hosted by former SNL cast member Kristen Wiig.

Krasinski’s hosting gig did perform better than the previous two December telecasts, which averaged a 4.3 and a 4.1.

Saturday’s program also posted a 2.0 rating among the key adults 18-49 demo across the 25 local people meter markets. That was down a tenth from Wiig’s episode,

Saturday Night Live has had a strong season based on last fall’s numbers leading up to the presidential election. Its live-plus-seven-day viewership and adults 18-49 rating are the highest for the show in four years—the program’s ratings tend to rise and fall based on the election cycle, and former President Donald Trump was certainly a boon for the show’s ratings.

In fact, SNL ranks as the top comedy among 18-49s and viewers in that demo among all broadcast and cable shows this season. That says as much about the state of comedy ratings right now as anything, with a dearth of broadly popular sitcoms.

Krasinski’s show kicked off the first of five new episodes for SNL. Next Saturday, Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy hosts, followed the next weekend by Oscar winner Regina King—ending a three-week run of first-time hosts. The hosts for the following two episodes haven’t been announced yet.

Saturday’s episode also marked a return. Longtime cast member Aidy Bryant, who has been out since October shooting her Hulu series Shrill, was featured in several skits.