Saturday Night Live brought out some big guns to kick off its 50th season, which coincides with a major presidential election.
As was previously announced, Maya Rudolph returned on Saturday to play now-presidential hopeful Kamala Harris in the show’s cold open. After a month of speculation over who would play Harris’ running mate Tim Walz after Steve Martin said he turned down the gig, the answer turned out to be comedian Jim Gaffigan. Rudolph also reunited with SNL castmate Andy Samberg, who returned to Studio 8H to play Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff.
On the other side of the aisle, current cast member James Austin Johnson was back as the show’s resident Donald Trump, while Bowen Yang filled the shoes of the former president’s current veep pick, J.D. Vance.
But in the biggest surprise of the cold open, SNL master impressionist Dana Carvey returned to the show as President Joe Biden. Carvey played a number of U.S. presidents and other politicians throughout his time on the SNL cast from 1986-1993, most famously President George H.W. Bush.
Carvey last hosted SNL in 2011, but has appeared a handful of times since then, most recently in 2016 when he popped up twice as his beloved Church Lady character. But he’s still an active member of the SNL family, currently cohosting the Fly on the Wall podcast with fellow alum David Spade, in which the duo share hilarious stories of their time on the show and interview both past and current cast members.
Biden was previously played on the show by Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, Jim Carrey, Alex Moffat, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, in addition to Kevin Nealon playing the then-senator in a 1991 sketch on the Clarence Thomas hearings.
Rudolph has returned to host and cameo on SNL several times since leaving the cast in 2007. Among her return appearances was portraying Harris during the 2020 presidential race, an impression that scored her an Emmy as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She won another Emmy for hosting the show in 2021.
Season 50 commenced with three new cast members, Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline, following the departures of Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloe Troast.
Coinciding with the show’s new season, Jason Reitman‘s biographical SNL movie, Saturday Night, debuted in select theaters in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto. The film will have a limited release on Oct. 4, before opening wide on Oct. 11, which is the official anniversary of the show’s first ever episode in 1975.
The legendary NBC sketch show will hold its official 50th celebration on Feb. 16, 2025, with a three-hour primetime special.
SNL returns with host Nate Bargatze and musical guest Coldplay next Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. Watch the cold open above.