Maya Rudolph to make ‘Saturday Night Live’ comeback as Kamala Harris
Maya Rudolph is set to return to Saturday Night Live to reprise her portrayal of Vice President Kamala Harris for the sketch show’s 50th season.
Rudolph previously played the Democratic politician during the 2020 presidential campaign, which also saw Jim Carrey take on the role of Joe Biden and Alec Baldwin portray Donald Trump, although the role has since been adopted by cast member James Austin Johnson.
The comedic actor has a storied history with Saturday Night Live, having initially joined the long-running NBC programme in 2000. Rudolph was a permanent fixture on the show for seven years before leaving in 2007, and establishing herself as a Hollywood star after using Saturday Night Live as a stepping stone to bigger things.
However, like many former Saturday Night Live stars, Rudolph still holds a deep affiliation to the programme, and the opportunity to return will always be tempting.
Furthermore, in order to aid her Saturday Night Live comeback, Rudolph has halted pre-production on her Apple comedy series, Loot, to allow her to focus on her portrayal of Harris, according to Deadline.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2021, Rudolph said she “smelled it coming” before Saturday Night Live asked her to play Harris, and explained why it was a privilege to be cast in the role. “I remember when Tina 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 and everyone was talking about it I was like, ‘I’m going to get the call.’ It felt like that, but much more rewarding,” she explained.
Rudolph also highlighted the cultural importance of the “political portion” of Saturday Night Live, especially during an election, adding, “It’s rare to be involved in a presidential campaign…. I think knowing that there was a candidate that I resembled so much was so cool in and of itself. And then icing on the cake is just simply getting to do it on the show, a place that I feel so at home in, and that I love.”
The 50th season of Saturday Night Live is set to begin on September 28th, allowing the programme to satirise the presidential campaign before the election takes place on November 5th.
Additionally, the upcoming Saturday Night Live movie, has finally been given the title, Saturday Night, and is set for release on October 11th.
The release date coincides with the 49th-anniversary of the first episode of the sketch show being aired on NBC in 1975, which is appropriate as the movie documents how the programme came to fruition, and the making of the debut broadcast.
An official synopsis for the movie states that it’s “based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.” It also promises to be “full of humor, chaos and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time to the famous words: ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!’”
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