SNL’s Most-Watched Cold Open of Season 50 Might Surprise You
The show's milestone season cast four beloved alums as big political figures opposite James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump.
Not every Saturday Night Live cold open in Season 50 was about Donald Trump, but most of them were.
Cast member James Austin Johnson's ace impression of the president took over many of the season's opening sketches, and he appeared in four out of the top five most-watched Season 50 cold opens.
Johnson was not, however, always the star of the sketch. Several returning cast members, including Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Dana Carvey, and Mike Myers, returned to Studio 8H to impersonate political figures from the 2024 presidential election and its aftermath. But not all of Season 50's most popular cold opens are political: One sketch that was entirely politics-free, but chock full o' celebrity guests.
What these top five sketches have in common is a plethora of guest stars, both highly anticipated and fully unexpected. It might surprise you which guest star takes the top spot!
RELATED: Everyone Who Has Played Donald Trump on SNL
5. Martin Short Five-Timers Club Cold Open (December 21, 2024)
Comedy legend and former SNL cast member Martin Short finally joined the Five-Timers Club with help from Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, John Mulaney, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, Kristen Wiig, and "jacket boy" Jimmy Fallon.
RELATED: Martin Short's SNL Five-Timer's Club Cold Open Starred Tom Hanks, Emma Stone & More
4. Family Feud Election 2024 Cold Open (October 12, 2024)
Trump (Johnson) and Vice President Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) faced off on Family Feud alongside their friends and family: Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg), Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan), Joe Biden (Dana Carvey), Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day), and JD Vance (Bowen Yang).
3. 2024 Pre-Election Cold Open (November 2, 2024)
In the cold open from John Mulaney's episode, Rudolph, Samberg, Gaffigan, and Carvey played Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Tim Walz, and Joe Biden reckoning with the end of the 2024 campaign in a sketch that ended with the real Kamala Harris showing up to prove just how good Rudolph's impression really is.
2. Harris and Trump Rallies Cold Open (September 28, 2024)
In the Season 50 premiere (which, yes, aired a full lifetime ago), Rudolph kicked off the season with Sabrina Carpenter references and lines like, "If we win, together, we can end the dramala, end the traumala, and go relax in our pajamalas."
1. Elon Musk Cold Open (March 1, 2025)
The top most-watched cold open of Season 50 features Mike Myers as a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk who jumps up and down and yells actual Elon Musk quotes such as "Legalize comedy!" and the less-factual "Glitch!"
While the SNL cast and writers are currently on summer hiatus, there will be plenty of material for the writers to draw from when the show returns for Season 51.
Watch the Top 5 Most-Watched Cold Open Sketches above, and stream any episode of SNL any time on Peacock.
