This past Saturday’s “SNL” showed the 51 year old show is on a comeback.
For some reason, maybe because there’s a lot of new cast members, season 51 hasn’t been easy. After Bad Bunny opened with 4.4 million viewers, the show trended downwards until Miles Teller and Brandi Carlile bottomed out with 3.36 million. That was pretty shocking.
But every episode since then has restored order, with the most recent episode, featuring Melissa McCarthy and singer Dijon, getting back to 4.3 million again.
Still, “SNL” has not had a blockbuster episode this season so far.
This Saturday brings actor Josh O’Connor and singer Lily Allen, which looks perilous. O’Connor is the star of “Wake Up, Dead Man” and a few other films this fall, but his appeal is unknown. Lily Allen made a splash with an album about her divorce from “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour.
Even if this weekend is a bust the big pre-Christmas ender should go through the roof. Ariana Grande is hosting, and Cher is the musical guest. If they don’t bring in viewers, no one can, particularly if they sing “I Got You, Babe” and Cher — the queen of all celebrity — is in some sketches.
Who knows? Maybe Jeff Goldblum will show up. He and Ariana are releasing a single together this week. And Cynthia Erivo? What about a “Wicked” reunion with Cher? The mind boggles.
