Kate McKinnon on What Makes “Saturday Night Live” Work
They’re back! Two days after the televised debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden, Saturday Night Live shared a first look at comedian Jim Carrey stepping into the role of Biden.
The teaser also featured Maya Rudolph returning as Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris in character.
The NBC show returns on Saturday, Oct. 3, with host Chris Rock and musical guest Megan Thee Stallion for the season 46 premiere. And it’s safe to say it will be full of political references ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
The clip showed both actors getting their hair and makeup done to get them into character—wigs and all. Rudolph laced up a pair of Converse sneakers as she prepared to take the stage as Harris, a clever nod to Harris’ extensive Converse collection, which has been her go-to on the campaign trail.
Carrey, on the other hand, threw on Biden’s signature pair of dark Aviator sunglasses in slow-motion. (The real Biden name-drops Aviators in his Twitter bio, so it’s all very on brand).
On Sept. 16, the network revealed that Carrey would be playing the presidential hopeful and that SNL will welcome three new cast members: Lauren Holt, Punkie Johnson and Andrew Dismukes.
Stars Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson and John Mulaney have all previously portrayed Biden on the sketch show.
And she has Harris’ stamp of approval. The California Senator tweeted in September 2019, “That girl being played by @MayaRudolph on @nbcsnl? That girl was me,” in reference to a famous line she delivered in the debates about busing and desegregating U.S. schools. Rudolph replied, “YES SHE WAS SENATOR HARRIS!!!” and has since gone silent on Twitter.
Carrey, 58, has also been showing his interest in politics by posting political cartoons on Twitter.
See the SNL teaser above and tune in on Saturday for the full performance.
