“Saturday Night Live” wasn’t very funny last night, and that showed in the ratings.
The numbers for the Regina King- hosted, Nathaniel Rateliff episode were lower than they’ve been all season. Total viewers were 4.1 million. The average this season has been 4.3 million, and the highs were really high at one point.
I’m not surprised that “SNL” is starting to wear down. Trump fueled their ratings for four years. It gave them a reason to exist. There was buzz every week about what they would say about some Trump scandal.
But with Trump gone, the jokes are, too. The sketches are very lame. And while I love Regina King, she wasn’t a draw. If they really wanted her, a buzzy musical guest would have helped. But I find Rateliff to be a yawn. He sounds like a cover band of The Band. Snore. He’s musical but dull.
The only nod to politics last night was in the cold opening. But after that, the show consisted mostly of pedestrian comedy.
Why aren’t Mikey Day and Alex Moffat doing Trump brothers from Mar-a-Lago? Where is Kate McKinnon? Her witch was fun, but we’re missing her upfront and all through the show.
This coming week should kick things up with “Bridgerton” star Regé-Jean Page and music guest Bad Bunny. But it’s the writing. “SNL” needs some good parodies. A big “Bridgerton” number should help, or several. Where was the Regina King “Watchmen” skit? Or “One Night in Miami” reimagined? That could have been daring as an updated meeting of all kinds of people. Chris Redd could have played Sam Cooke so easily!
Well, on to next week.
