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

SNL Cold Open Tackles NYC Mayoral Race with Ramy Youssef, Shane Gillis

Ramy Youssef and Shane Gillis helped Saturday Night Live and host Miles Teller tackle New York City's mayoral race in a great Cold Open.

While we're excited to see what host Miles Teller and musical guest Brandi Carlile have to offer tonight, we're feeling a little gunshy after the Sabrina Carpenter-hosted Saturday Night Live from two weeks ago. After kicking off Season 51 with two strong outings from hosts Bad Bunny and Amy Poehler, the third episode of the season left a lot to be desired. One of the things that didn't work for us was the decision to kick off SNL with a Marcello Hernandez-starring "Domingo" sketch for the Cold Open. At this point in the long-running late-night live sketch comedy and music show's run, we expect SNL to offer its satirical take on the current political and/or social issues of the day – and with Trump in the White House, it's not like the show is ever lacking for material. Going with a sketch we would typically find after the monologue felt off, and started the show off on too soft a note. After a break last weekend, did SNL's Cold Open get back on track?

The show opened with a focus on NY1 and the New York City Mayoral Race. Right off the bat, props to Kenan Thompson for the joke about no one knowing who he was portraying. Andrew Cuomo (Teller), Zohran Mamdani (Ramy Youssef), and Curtis Sliwa (Shane Gillis) – with intro jokes about Cuomo's legal issues, Mamdani smiling about everything (and the other candidates murdering the pronunciation of his name), and Sliwa just rambling. We even got a look at Kam Patterson's Mayor Eric Adams – but no one wanted his endorsement.

While Cuomo and Mamdani are called out for their respective pandering, Gillis excels in portraying Sliwa in what might be his best SNL sketch yet. Of course, Trump (James Austin Johnson) makes an appearance to remind everyone that the NYC election is also a referendum on him – while getting some shots in on all three (especially "handsy" Cuomo). Before donning a "Phantom of the Opera" mask and singing, Trump ponders adding "NYC Mayor" to his resume. It was a return to form for the Cold Open and an auspicious start to the show. Don't forget that next weekend brings host Nikki Glaser and musical guest Sombr, while November 15th brings host Glen Powell and musical guest Olivia Dean. Now, here's a look at tonight's Cold Open:

The Season 51 cast includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang, along with current featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline. Joining them are newcomers Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.

New writers for this season include actor-writer Jack Bensinger (Rap World), stand-up comedian Jo Sunday (Just for Laughs), comic Maddie Wiener (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), actor and writer Rachel Pegram (Harley Quinn), writer-comedian Claire McFadden (Second City), Maxwell Gay (The Harvard Lampoon), and Tucker Flodman (The Harvard Lampoon).

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