Saturday Night Live is bringing in the big names for this upcoming season. According to Deadline, to kick off season 50 of SNL, Maya Rudolph (Loot, Big Mouth) will return to studio 8H to reprise the Emmy-winning role of Kamala Harris as this election cycle ramps up. Rudolph heard the internet’s call to clear her calendar to appear as Harris, and she listened.
The news of Rudolph’s impression of the politician returning to SNL comes from Deadline learning that the pre-production of the third season of Loot, the Apple TV series Rudolph is currently working on, has paused. According to Deadline, sources have stated to the show’s cast and crew that production has been put on hold for scheduling reasons and conflicts only.
SNL has always recruited major stars to play presidential candidates. Notoriously, Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice, 30 Rock) previously portrayed the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. Most recently, during the 2020 presidential race, the sketch show brought in Jim Carrey (The Truman Show, Liar Liar) to play the role of President Joe Biden alongside Rudolph, who played Harris as the Democratic nominee. The two played the politicians through the start of the season in early October to the end of the election cycle in December, when SNL wrapped up before the holidays. This time around, Rudolph is expected to be on SNL for the same timeline as she transfers from working on Loot in LA, to SNL in New York City.
Rudolph earned herself an Emmy when she first reprised her role as Harris when she hosted SNL in March 2021. She made appearances a handful of times leading up to her win of Guest Actress In A Comedy Series Emmy.
There has been no other confirmation or news regarding who will be playing the other political figures that will be a part of the upcoming presidential election.