“SNL” dipped in the second week of its 52nd season.
Despite Taylor Swift making a surprise appearance during the host monologue, the show dipped to 4.6 million from 4.8 in the premiere week.
Dakota Johnson was the laconic host, and hardcore rockers Turnstile were the music act. Dakota tried to spice up her opening by discussing her dating history with rock stars, but it wasn’t funny and the audience seemed uninterested.
Turnstile was a bit of a shock, making a rock racket with a shirtless drummer. I joked that Turnstile was something you had to get through. Indeed, the band has low sales and weren’t much of a draw for viewers. Their album, “Never Enough,” proved plenty. It’s number 28 on iTunes.
The show actually did better on YouTube, where fans can watch individual sketches instead of making it through the 90 minute show. The cold open scored a whopping 5.1 million views — a half million higher more than the show itself. After that, most sketches leveled off to 1 million or fewer views.
