During the 2024 election cycle, the viewership of 'Saturday Night Live' plummeted.

"Saturday Night Live" was one of the biggest losers of the 2024 election cycle, despite not appearing on any ballots on Election Day.

The cultural significance of NBC's sketch comedy show, which satirizes current events and politicians, has declined this year compared to previous election years.

The 2021 post-election episode of "SNL" drew 4.4 million viewers, a 53% drop from the 9.2 million viewers it had in 2020, and was the least-watched episode of the season, according to Nielsen Research.

In the weeks leading up to the 2024 election, "SNL" experienced a 25% decline in viewership compared to the 2020 election and a nearly 30% drop from 2016.

This election cycle, the Peacock network heavily relied on stunt casting with "SNL" alums Maya Rudolph and Dana Carvey playing Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden respectively, comedian Jim Gaffigan playing Harris' running mate Tim Walz and "SNL" alum Andy Samberg playing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang portrayed President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, respectively.

Shane Gillis reportedly declined an offer from "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels to portray Trump this season, following his Trump impersonation during his hosting stint earlier this year. Gillis had previously been fired by "SNL" as a featured cast member in 2019 due to backlash from progressive critics over old jokes.

The episode with the highest viewership this season was the one that aired on the Saturday before Election Day, featuring a surprise appearance by Harris in the cold open alongside Rudolph, which attracted 6.6 million viewers.

Since his first presidential campaign in November 2015, Trump has not hosted "SNL." The show earned a record 9.3 million viewers during that time.

"SNL" has spent the past eight years criticizing the now president-elect. In the 2024 post-election cold open sketch, "SNL" cast members joked about being "with [him] all along."

"Even when others questioned your support, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to you," Yang stated.

In the first two years of the Biden presidency, "SNL" spent more time parodying the previous president than the current one.

After Hillary Clinton's defeat in 2016, some of her cast members reportedly cried. In her first cold open after the election, Clinton portrayer Kate McKinnon sang a somber version of "Hallelujah" on the piano and told the audience not to give up.