A hilarious return. Dana Carvey, actor and comedian best known for his time on Saturday Night Live, came back to the show's season 50 premiere with a brilliant performance as President Joe Biden. Alongside him, Maya Rudolph appeared as Kamala Harris, Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, and Andy Samberg as Dough Emhoff.
The 969th episode of the 50-year-old comedy sketch show, Saturday Night Live - hosted by actress Jean Smart and with Jelly Roll as a musical guest -, started with a cold open spoof of both a Kamala Harris and a Trump rally. Carvey was the last of the returning guests to make his appearance. He managed to land every single Joe Biden mannerism, gesture, and even his looks to the teeth.
"Folks, that's right. A lot of people forget I'm president, including me!" were the first words Carvey said, standing next to Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris. What followed was a hysterical speech filled with many "And guess what, and by the way" lines that we have all heard now and then from Joe Biden himself.
"I did a pretty good job. I passed more bills than any president in history. But folks, we still got work to do, no joke, I'm being serious right now, come on," continued Carvey with the crowd laughing. "The. Rich. Don't. Pay. Their. Fare. Share," said Carvey, in a very angry but subdued tone.
Right before Carvey's Joe Biden went full unintelligible, Maya Rudolph stepped in by saying: "Thank you, Joe Biden, for putting your country first, and for handing over the reins." Carvey, however, answers back: "I didn't want to!" He later walked off stage only to walk back in while Rudolph's Kamala was talking and proceeded to inappropriately sniff her hair.
The cold open ended with both Rudolph and Carvey saying the classic "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Viewers Laugh Out Loud
Viewers found Carvey's Joe Biden extremely funny. One user said on X: "Took Dana to make SNL funny again." Another user said: "Hysterical...have to go back to the 'real days' of comedians..." with another user complementing this idea by saying: "This is the @nbcsnl that made us laugh for years........Go back to this....Well done Dana!"
Dana Carvey was part of the SNL cast for seven seasons from 1986 to 1993. His most famous roles include the Church Lady, Derek Stevens, the Grumpy Old Man, and Garth Algar from Wayne's World. He also did a bunch of politician impressions - among many others - and played Dick Chaney, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush.