Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL 50 Cold Open: Family Feud Sees Team Harris vs. Team Trump (VIDEO)

SNL's (with Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks) cold open saw Team VP Kamala Harris versus Team Donald Trump on a special edition of Family Feud.

We kicked off NBC's Saturday Night Live (with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Stevie Nicks) with a cold open that brought back SNL's all-star lineup of political comedians. CNN's Kaitlin Collins (Chloe Fineman) started things off by addressing how Donald Trump was avoiding debating VP Kamala Harris – but that there was one format he would be willing to take her on. With host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) running a very special edition of Family Feud, we had the "families" set up by political parties. For the Democrats, we had VP Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), her husband, Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg), Gov. Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan), and President Joseph Biden (Dana Carvey). For the Republicans, we had Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), his wife, Melania Trump – who was MIA, Donald Trump, Jr. (Mikey Day), and Sen. JD Vance (Bowen Yang).

What we get is VP Harris admitting to screaming into her pillow about not beating Trump by a landslide in the polls, Doug being too boring to be asked to do press, Gov. Walz all over the map with enthusiasm, and President Biden feeling rested – but still not sure who the host is. From there, we have Trump explaining why Melania is missing, Don Jr. and Sen. Vance having some "competing for daddy's love" issues going on, and a lot more. "I'm telling you, Steve, she's going to be very horrible at this game. She's a low IQ person. The whole world is laughing at her because they don't respect her like they respected me," Trump says to Harvey at one point as he's facing off with VP Harris at the buzzers. "The fact is Donald Trump likes dictators, all right, because anyone can manipulate him simply through flattery," Harris responded. When Trump claimed it wasn't true, Harris reacted, "You look very handsome." And that's all is took, with Trump sold: "I love her. Isn't she great?"

Saturday Night Live Season 50 & SNL EP Lorne Michaels

Back in May, the word went out regarding early plans to celebrate the milestone 50th season of Saturday Night Live. The network confirmed that there will be a "celebratory weekend" that wraps up on Sunday, February 16th (from 8-11 p.m. ET), with a live, primetime special. Now, thanks to an interview he had with The New York Times at the end of the most recent season, we're learning some additional details on what's ahead – and Michaels's thoughts on those rumblings about his retiring after Season 50.

Along with the primetime special on February 16th, music producer Mark Ronson and Michaels will produce a "homecoming" of sorts at Radio City Music Hall on the Friday of that weekend. In addition, it was noted that musician and producer Questlove (The Roots) is co-producing a documentary for the anniversary season spotlighting the impact that SNL had had on music and culture, and Morgan Neville (Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces, Won't You Be My Neighbor) is producing five documentaries focusing on both Michaels and the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series. As for those rumblings that the 50th anniversary will also be his last hurrah, Michaels is basing that decision on how he's feeling and not committing to anything. "I'm going to do it as long as I feel I can do it," he shared. "But I rely on other people and always have."

Heading into Season 50, SNL said goodbye to Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloe Troast – and hello to new featured players Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline. In addition, Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker were promoted to the main cast. After this weekend, we have Oct. 19th: Michael Keaton / Billie Eilish; Nov. 2nd: John Mulaney / Chappell Roan. The long-running late-night sketch comedy series is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, with Liz Patrick directing and SNL alum Darrell Hammond announcing. Broadcasting from Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, Saturday Night Live is produced by SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!