Friday, March 29, 2024

“SNL” Ratings For Finale Come in At Average For Season Even with Cast Farewells

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The big farewells on Saturday night didn’t do much for “SNL” ratings.

The show hosted by Natasha Lyonne with Musical guest Japanese Breakfast drew 4.6 million viewers. That was average for this season.

There were cast farewells from Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney. Or rather, from the first three. Mooney, who’s been such a huge part of the show for years, got little love with his exit. Too bad– he deserved better.

Lyonne was very good, and Lorne Michaels brought in Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph to help see out the season. But no one knew who Japanese Breakfast was, and still they (she) remain a mystery. Why didn’t the season end with a big music star? Who knows?

Anyway, that’s it. The cast will tighten up now. Cecily Strong rises to the level of central player, she’s that good and was sometimes overshadowed by McKinnon. Kenan Thompson hangs in there as team captain. The breakout star of this season was James Austin Johnson.

Will there be new members of the cast? Maybe not since there are plenty of recurring ones who didn’t get airtime this year.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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