Saturday, December 7, 2024

“Saturday Night Live” Returns Down in Ratings with New Cast Members and Faves Gone, Down 900K from 2021 Premiere

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Lorne Michaels had a good and bad weekend. The Broadway play he produced, “Leopoldstadt,” opened to rave reviews. It’s a hit, and Tom Stoppard will be headed to the Tony Awards next June.

But back in real life, “Saturday Night Live” returned sans eight beloved cast members, and without Cecily Strong, who’s doing a play in Los Angeles. Reviews were not good even with new cast members who will have to prove themselves.

Ratings were down to just 4 million viewers with Miles Teller as host, and Kendrick Lamar as musical guest. That’s off by 600,000 viewers from the end of last season, and down 900,000 from last year’s premiere. This week, the host is actor Brendan Gleeson and the musical guest is Willow Smith. Ratings will be terrible. Let’s hope the cast does a better job.

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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