NEW YORK (AP) — “Saturday Night Live” began its 50th season with a parade of former co-stars, including Maya Rudolph as Vice President Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg as her husband Doug Emhoff and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden. “We've got to stay focused,” Rudolph-as-Harris said at a mock rally in the show's cold open. “If we win, together, we can end the drama-la and the trauma-la and go relax in our pajama-las.
” After bringing out running mate Tim Walz, played by comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan, she invited Samberg-as Emhoff to the stage and then, almost as an afterthought, Biden, played by the oldest of the group, the 69-year-old Carvey. “A lot of people forget I’m president, including me," said Carvey, best known on the show for playing President George W. Bush in the late 1980s.
Rudolph and Carvey jointly delivered the “Live from New York, it's Saturday night” that launched season 50 of the sketch comedy institution. Rudolph's return to play Harris — she won an Emmy for playing her previously — had been reported, but it was not certain when she would appear. The guest spots from Carvey, Samberg and Gaffigan were all surprises.
“Designing Women” star Jean Smart, fresh off winning her sixth Emmy for her lead role in “Hacks,” was host, a role the 73-year-old has somehow never played in a four-decade career. “I remember watching the first episode of ‘SNL’ and thinking, ’someday I’m going to host that show,” Smart said in her op.