‘SNL’ Cold Open Took on Miami’s Spring Break Pandemic Partiers

Saturday Night Live saw the return of Maya Rudolph this week, and the show did not wait long to show off her talents. While most expected Rudolph to show off her impression of Vice President Kamala Harris immediately, last night's cold open wasn't political. Instead, the show parodied the influx of spring breakers visiting Miami Beach, Florida, while the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The show presented another game show sketch, Snatched! Vaxed! or Waxed!, with Rudolph as the host, Cece Vuvuzela. "We are so close to the end, let's ruin it!" Cece said at the start. The point of the game was to have the three contestants - Chris Redd, Beck Bennett, and Kyle Mooney - decide if a woman was "snatched," vaccinated, or "smooth like a seal." Each contestant who guessed correctly got to take a girl to a packed club. Later, a siren interrupted the show, which meant Bennett's contestant was back on duty as a cop. However, Cece brought in Pepe's cousin Leopold (Melissa Villasenor), who turned the show into a dance party. Bennett then led everyone off the set, which meant the sketch was over.

This broadcast was the first new SNL episode since Feb. 27, when Nick Jonas hosted and performed. That episode also featured a political cold open, with Kate McKinnon playing Dr. Anthony Fauci to host a game show called So You Think You Can Get a Vaccine. The sketch parodied how difficult it was to get a coronavirus vaccine at the time, although it is becoming increasingly easier as states expand eligibility. The country already surpassed President Joe Biden's goal of 100 million vaccines administered in his first 100 days, so Biden's new goal is to get 200 million vaccines administered by the end of April.

Rudolph first appeared as Harris last year, during the 2020 presidential campaign and continued playing the role in the first half of SNL Season 46. She made her most recent appearance as the former senator from California in the Dec. 19 episode. Rudolph even won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Harris in Eddie Murphy's Season 45 episode. She also won an Emmy in 2020 for her voice-over performance in the series Big Mouth.

Although Rudolph lives in Los Angeles, she agreed to travel across the country frequently during the pandemic to film SNL in New York. She recently told Entertainment Weekly she expected executive producer Lorne Michaels to cast her as Harris. "I smelled it coming," she said. "I remember when Tina [Fey] smelled it coming for Sarah Palin. It's funny, it was almost like a red herring early on when I wasn't on the show anymore and Rachel Dolezal was in the news — like, 'I'm going to get that call.'" New SNL episodes air Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.