Saturday Night Live scored its best ratings of the season so far this weekend, drawing 5.16 million viewers for an episode hosted by Inde Navarrette with Gracie Abrams as musical guest. The audience rose 16.5 percent from the previous show, according to Showbiz411, which reported the figures on November 4.
The 5.16 million viewers marked a clear jump for Saturday Night Live, which had not reached that level earlier in the season. The episode aired on Halloween weekend, a night when part of the show’s younger audience might have been out at parties instead of watching television. The figure is the live audience for the broadcast, counted on the night.
Saturday Night Live posts its best number of the season
Navarrette came to the show as the star of the horror film Obsession, which has taken $263 million in the United States and about twice that worldwide, according to Showbiz411. The film’s run made her one of the more visible young actors of the fall, and the episode gave that film audience a reason to tune in to Saturday Night Live.
Obsession has been one of the fall’s bigger box office stories, and Navarrette’s hosting turn put a film star with a current hit in front of a live television audience. Her movie made $263 million in the United States, and Showbiz411 put its worldwide total at roughly double that figure, a result few horror releases reach.
Abrams returned to Saturday Night Live as musical guest, having appeared on the show recently. Her return gave the episode a second draw for younger viewers, and the pairing of a film star host with a pop singer gave the night two separate reasons for audiences to watch live.
The episode followed the show’s usual shape, with a cold open, a monologue from the host and sketches through the night, plus performances from Abrams. Navarrette’s monologue and the sketches gave her a full night in front of the studio audience, and the musical guest slots gave Abrams the stage for the night’s songs.
Saturday Night Live and the Halloween timing
The Halloween timing made the result more surprising for Saturday Night Live. Showbiz411 noted that the show’s target age group might have been out at parties, yet the audience grew instead. Tom Hanks also appeared in the cold open, and Showbiz411 suggested his presence may have helped keep viewers around through the first part of the night.
Lorne Michaels has run Saturday Night Live for 52 years, and Showbiz411’s Roger Friedman wrote that the result showed the producer still knows what he is doing. Friedman opened his report with the line “Never underestimate Lorne Michaels,” adding that he keeps it in his permanent notes. He also wrote that he had not expected a ratings comeback from this episode.
What the numbers mean
The 16.5 percent rise is measured against the previous episode, and it put Saturday Night Live past the five million mark for the first time this season. The show has aired on Saturday nights since 1975, and its audience has shifted over the years from live viewing to a mix of live, recorded and online watching. Ratings for late night television have been under pressure for years, with audiences splitting their time between live broadcasts and clips watched later online, so a live jump of this size stands out.
The result also cut against low expectations around the booking. Friedman wrote that he did not think Navarrette was so exciting as a host, and he noted that Abrams had released an album earlier this year that had not sold well. The show cracked five million viewers anyway, with 5.16 million watching, and Friedman called it a huge ratings comeback.
Why the result stood out
For now, the episode is the season’s high point for Saturday Night Live, with the 5.16 million viewers as the number to beat in the weeks ahead. The Halloween weekend audience, the film star host and the cold open all played a part, and the show will find out in the coming weeks whether that audience stays. The next episodes will show whether the Halloween weekend audience returns, and whether the season can build on its best number so far.