Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan, and Dana Carvey Join Maya Rudolph for ‘SNL’ Season 50 Premiere’s Cold Open
While it was all but official that Maya Rudolph would be playing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” Season 50 the minute President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed his Vice President, ever since, the internet has been rife with speculation over who would play her husband, Doug Emhoff, and eventual VP pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Initially, Steve Martin was circulated as a possible Walz stand-in, and series creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels even made one of his favorite hosts and guests stars the offer, but the “Only Murders in the Building” star had to turn him down. Instead, as we found out last night, your favorite “big dad energy” comedian took the reins of your favorite “big dad energy” politician, with Jim Gaffigan playing Walz in all his Midwestern glory. Gaffigan and Rudolph were joined by two other “SNL” mainstays, Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband and potential first First Gentleman and Dana Carvey as a less-than-coherent Biden.
The cold open kicked off with Andrew Dismukes playing ABC World News Tonight host and “hot” debate moderator David Muir, who threw it over to Harris (Rudolph) at one of her party-like rallies.
More from IndieWire
“Well, well, well, look who fell out of that coconut tree,” said Rudolph, her impression of Harris having sharpened and expanded even further since she last played her. “Well your fun aunt has returned. The ‘funt’ has been rebooted. Too ‘funt,’ too furious. I am so happy to be campaigning in whatever swing state I’m in, which I will just refer to as Wisconsin-Pennsyl-Va-Georgia. Because I am going to protect your Va-Georgia.”
As the sketch continued, Rudolph found humor in a number of Harris’ campaign slogans, then introduced her running mate, “Coach” Walz, played by Gaffigan with exuberant glee, folksy charm, and Walz’s trademark hand gestures.
“Woo! Folks, I haven’t been this excited since I got a 10% rebate on a leaf blower from Menards,” said Gaffigan, referencing the Midwestern big-box home improvement retailer that Walz considers his home-away-from-home. “What can I say? I got that ‘BDE’ — ‘big dad energy.’ See what I did there?”
Like Rudolph playing Harris, Gaffigan had some fun satirizing many of Walz’s now-famous slogans, from calling Republicans “weird” to sharing the wisdom of the phrase “mind your own damn business.” Eventually, Gaffigan left the stage, allowing Rudolph’s Harris to introduce her husband Doug, played by Andy Samberg. Dancing onto the stage to Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie,” Samberg captured the Second Gentleman’s non-threatening swagger to a tee.
“Tis I, Doug,” said Samberg as he took the podium as Emhoff. “The Second Gentle-mensh. Also known as Charlie Brown if he was a grown-up.”
Samberg continued his parody by emphasizing Emhoff’s infatuation with Harris and disbelief over being able to attract her, as well as embracing Republican criticism that calls him a “trad-hus” and a “little spoon.” And speaking of Republicans, “SNL” had to at least make an attempt at being non-partisan by cutting to a Trump rally, where James Austin Johnson continued to expand on his repertoire, shouting about Harris not being Black and his frustration of the Democrats pulling a switcheroo from behind bullet-proof glass. He went on to introduce his running mate, JD Vance, played by Bowen Yang, who absolutely nails Vance’s accent and inferiority.
“How much do we love Donald Trump?” said Yang as Vance tries to energize the crowd of supporters around him. “Just this afternoon, he told me, ‘JD, you’re like a son to me… because I don’t like you and I’m stuck with you.'”
Cutting back to the Harris rally, after taking a brief dance break, the Vice President introduced the man responsible for her rapid ascent, played ever-convincingly by the “SNL” legend Dana Carvey, who previously played President George H.W. Bush in the ’80s and ’90s. Highlighting Biden’s growing senility and increasingly uncomfortable speaking habits, including peppering “and guess what” and “by the way” into his speeches whenever possible, Carvey’s impression was a dead ringer that brought the first cold open of the 50th season to a close and promised plenty of hilarious political hi-jinks ahead.
Watch the full cold open below.
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
