“Saturday Night Live” is back to take on a wild election and celebrate its 50th anniversary on the air

America is in the home stretch of a truncated presidential campaign like no other. But after the chaos of the last few months, one thing is certain: Saturday Night Live will be there to skewer it all.

NBC’s groundbreaking sketch comedy series returns this weekend just in time to satirize the new battle for the White House. “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris. “SNL” actor James Austin Johnson will once again wear a red tie to play former President Donald Trump.

Quick choice isn’t the only reason this season is all about high wattage. “SNL” turns 50, which means a show that was once synonymous with the energy of 1970s counterculture is now eligible for an AARP card. It’s a milestone that the channel plans to commemorate with a three-hour prime-time special on February 16 – a Sunday. (“SNL” and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal.)

But first comes Saturday’s season premiere with host Jean Smart, who just won her third Emmy win for her role in “Hacks,” and musical guest Jelly Roll, who performed during the Emmys ceremony. Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s safe to assume that the five-week sprint leading up to Election Day will be a central focus of the episode. “SNL” has mined comedy gold in presidential politics since it premiered in 1975, with Chevy Chase caricaturing President Gerald Ford as a pratfalling klutz. In the decades since, political parodies have been a staple of the series, from Dana Carvey as President George HW Bush (“A Thousand Points of Light”) to Tina Fey as GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (“I Can See Russia from My House!”). . “) during the 2008 election.

“’SNL’ has always helped us process the absurdities of the week in politics through sketch comedy. It can be a cathartic process for people, so the show plays an important role,” said Jeffrey P. Jones, a professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia who has written academic papers on “SNL” and politics.

Rudolph, speaking to Variety for a profile this month, nodded to the high stakes of the election and Harris’ historic candidacy, saying, among other things, that the role is “bigger than me and it’s about something very important.” She added: “I’m thrilled to be associated with it and I’m also happy that I played her and everyone is okay with it. She likes it.”

When it comes to Johnson’s incarnation of Trump, “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels said viewers should expect a slightly different take on the Republican candidate, who was portrayed on the show by six cast members – including Alec Baldwin, who won an Emmy for the role in 2017.

“Trump has changed. “James, who I think is brilliant, portrayed Trump as a kind of diminished Trump,” Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter. “The guy in the back of the hardware store is holding court, and that played because it felt relevant. But we have to reinvent it again because you’ve seen the debate.”

Michaels and the “SNL” team remained tight-lipped about the cast members lined up to portray the vice presidential candidates, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. (Fun fact: “The Sixth Sense” star Haley Joel Osment portrayed Vance on a recent episode of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”)

In the days after Harris chose Walz as her running mate, social media was abuzz with casting ideas. Most popular: Steve Martin, a 16-time “SNL” host and, like Walz, a man of a certain age with thin white hair. However, Martin turned down the role, telling the Los Angeles Times, “They need someone who can really nail the guy.”