There are plenty of beloved recurring sketches on Saturday Night Live, but few are as popular or iconic as the show’s Family Feud spoofs. A play on the fan-favorite game show, they see Kenan Thompson playing host Steve Harvey, who entertains wild answers from eccentric contestants. Well, the latest episode of SNL to grace the 2024 TV schedule brought Feud back, and there was a political twist this time around, involving Maya Rudolph and other major guest stars. It was a wild segment, and it seems fans are loving it.
SNL Season 50’s latest host was Ariana Grande, while Stevie Nicks was musical guest. Before the two singers took the stage, though, the episode’s cold open featured the aforementioned sketch. It opened with an intro from CNN pundit Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman), who stated that because former President Donald Trump didn’t want to participate in another debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he agreed to a different format – Family Feud. The skit then shifted to the game show, where Teams Harris and Trump prepared to face off:
As you can see, the sketch not only marked the returns of Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Haris and James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump. It also saw Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan and Dana Carvey reprise First Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Minnesota Governor Tim Wolz and President Joe Biden, respectively. Sandberg and co. debuted in their roles during the season premiere. Also, Johnson’s Trump was joined by Mikey Day’s Donald Trump Jr. and Bowen Yang’s Senator J.D. Vance. A joke was also made about the absence of Trump Sr.’s wife, Melania.
The sketch humorously captured the vibe of a political debate, with James Austin Johnson and Maya Rudolph effectively capturing the vibes of the politicians they were playing. The faux Trump’s utilization of “the weave,” which was a reference to the former president’s stream of consciousness, was also perfect. Shoutouts should also go to Jim Gaffigan and Dana Carvey as well as Kenan Thompson, whose winning Steve Harvey impression is still top-notch. After seeing the sketch, viewers took to X to share sentiments like the ones below:
- 'Show me a good laugh' SNL DOES Family Feud. - @24SevenEyes
- Family Feud Election Edition is what we need right now. - @RyanBartholomee
- This [SNL] Family Feud spin on the election is gold. - @SolomonPuryear
- LMAO that SNL Cold Open was genius! Having a debate on Family Feud 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 - @MatthewASoprano
- Omg this SNL Family Feud is SO good!! - @GisellePhelps
- We got a family feud sketch on SNL????? 😭 The drought is over. - @caliiinoel
This latest skit further drives home the point that SNL is devoted to bringing in top-tier talent to portray various real-life figures from across the political spectrum. It’s still somewhat surreal to see so many comedic veterans guest star for segments. However, some would argue that the producers are taking a risk this election season by leaning so heavily on non-regular cast members to play these roles. Above all that, there’s also the mixed feelings that series regulars can have about the likes of Ms. Rudolph and co. playing the roles.
Despite that, you can’t argue with the positive reception that the show has received for such guest spots thus far. This Family Feud sketch may be one for the books, and I’m hopeful that we see at least one more parody of the Steve Harvey-hosted show before SNL Season 50 is over. And, of course, I’m also intrigued to see how the show utilizes its versions of VP Harris, former President Trump and more.
Saturday Night Live airs on the eponymous night at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. You can also stream past episodes if you have an active Peacock subscription.