Saturday Night Live‘s landmark 50th season kicked off with a hilarious surprise as Jim Gaffigan stepped in to play Tim Walz, the current Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States.
As fans of NBC‘s long-running sketch comedy series know by now, SNL is famous for its election season skits, and Season 50’s opener didn’t disappoint on that front. The opener followed two political rallies, Kamala Harris‘ introduced Walz, as Maya Rudolph reprised her role as the current presidential nominee for the Democratic ticket.
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Gaffigan was animated as Midwesterner Walz, hitting on different beats from the candidate’s recent appearances, referring to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance as “weird” and mentioning his past career as a teacher. But Rudolph’s Harris had more people to introduce as she made way for the introduction of husband and second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, played by returning alum Andy Samberg. The pair shared a lovey-dovey moment, leaning their foreheads together.
Meanwhile, at Trump’s rally, James Austin Johnson reprised his ongoing role as the former president, introducing Bowen Yang as his running mate J.D. Vance. In a comical moment, as Trump stepped away from the speaking podium at his rally, the bullet-proof glass shield was also removed as Vance approached the microphone.
However, not too much time was spent lingering on the Republican nominees as moderator David Muir (Andrew Dismukes) revealed that Trump requested coverage shift back to Harris. It was at this point that Harris brought out her last collaborator onstage, Joe Biden, who is now played by impersonator and SNL alum, Dana Carvey.
Needless to say, the opening sketch definitely started the 50th season off right, as the focus shifted to host and Emmy-winning star of Max‘s Hacks, Jean Smart. What did you think of the casting reveals from the opening sketch? Let us know in the comments section, below, and watch the clip of Gaffigan as Walz, below:
Tim Walz hasn’t been this excited since he got a 10% rebate on a leaf blower from a Menards #SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/HEL9p7NDNS
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) September 29, 2024
Saturday Night Live, Season 50, Saturdays, 11:30/10:30c, NBC and Peacock