Post-Election ‘SNL’ With Host Dave Chappelle Scores Best Rating in 3 Years

Episode is the highest-rated comedy telecast among adults 18-49 since “Big Bang Theory” series finale

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — "Dave Chappelle" Episode 1791 — Pictured: Host Dave Chappelle during the monologue on Saturday, November 7, 2020 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)

Last weekend’s Dave Chappelle-hosted “Saturday Night Live,” which aired hours after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, is the long-running NBC sketch show’s highest-rated episode in three and a half years.

The Nov. 7 “SNL” has averaged a 2.62 rating among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, according to final time zone-adjusted “Live + Same Day” data from Nielsen, the highest rating “Saturday Night Live” has seen since host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Haim posted a 2.74 rating on May 13, 2017.

The key demo rating for Saturday’s post-election “SNL” makes it the highest-rated comedy telecast since the “Big Bang Theory” series finale got a 3.23 rating on May 16, 2019.

In terms of audience size, the Chappelle-hosted “SNL,” which featured the Foo Fighters as musical guest, drew 9.064 million total viewers. That’s the second-most-watched “Saturday Night Live” since McCarthy’s 2017 episode brought in 10.382 million viewers, with Eddie Murphy’s Dec. 21, 2019 show scoring 9.981 million overall sets of eyeballs.

Comparing last weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” to the NBC series’ first show to air following Donald Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton four years ago, both of which were hosted by Chappelle, this post-election episode is up 4% in total viewers (9.064 million vs. 8.691 million), but down 17% in key demo ratings (2.62 vs. 3.15).

Readers can see the cold open from Saturday’s “SNL,” featuring Jim Carrey as President-elect Joe Biden, Maya Rudolph as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump, here.

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