While Billie Eilish has had fans eager for her turn at both hosting and performing on the NBC sketch comedy series aired another standard episode last night, with host Simu Liu and Saweetie doing their part in their debut appearances on the show. But does this week’s episode continue the show’s streak of strong cold opens this week? Prior weeks have seen politics still factor heavily in the general theme of the show’s intro, though the players are a bit different this time around. We have a new Joe Biden and new Donald Trump on the show, both played by cast member James Austin Johnson.
Judge Jeanine returned this week for another Fox News segment that gives Cecily Strong plenty of time to shine. It also brought back Johnson as Trump to take a victory lap for the passage of the infrastructure bill he didn’t pass in reality.
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It is interesting to see Johnson’s Twitter clips with his Trump impression make the jump to national television in quality fashion. Where some went viral for lip syncing that likely didn’t have the evergreen presence you’d hope, Johnson is proving that having the honed talent -an be a true benefit for the comedy series. It is also leaps beyond the years of stunt casting in the cold open that seemed to end with Jim Carrey and Alec Baldwin as Biden and Trump during the election. The cold open here is mostly just Strong and Johnson riffing with their impressions, and it’s entertaining as can be.
The already talked with Jimmy Fallon about the impressions he was denied bringing to the show, but he seems ready for his first shot at late-night glory. According to The AV Club, He will be the seventh Asian or Asian-American host in the show’s history, following in the footsteps of fellow martial arts actor Jackie Chan as the first Asian host on the show.
SNL will close out 2021 with Billie Eilish pulling double duty on Dec. 11, followed by Paul Rudd’s fifth hosting appearance with Charli XCX as musical guest on Dec. 18.
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(L-R) James Austin Johnson, Kenan Thompson and Maya Rudolph in-character for a sketch during the Oct. 12, 2024 episode of 'Saturday Night Live' (Credit: NBC)
