SNL finale drew 5.3 million viewers

NBC’s May 16 season finale of “Saturday Night Live,” hosted by Will Ferrell with Paul McCartney as musical guest, drew 5.3 million same-day viewers, according to Showbiz411. The outlet said the telecast ranked as the second-highest-rated episode of the show’s 51st season. The finale also generated follow-up coverage for a cold open built around James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump and for a “Weekend Update” joke-swap segment that nearly ended with Colin Jost shaving his head on air. McCartney closed the night with multiple performances, including a surprise third song, according to Deadline and Billboard. ### How big was the audience for the finale? Showbiz411 reported on May 20 that the finale reached 5.3 million same-day viewers. The outlet said that total made the Ferrell-McCartney episode the No. 2 telecast of the season by ratings. Will Ferrell returned as host for the May 16 broadcast, his first time hosting since 2019, while McCartney appeared as musical guest, Yahoo reported in a recap of the episode. (showbiz411.com) Yahoo said it was Ferrell’s sixth time hosting the program and McCartney’s fifth appearance as musical guest. ### What did the show open with? (showbiz411.com) AOL reported the season finale opened with James Austin Johnson playing Trump in a surreal sketch in which the president is visited in his sleep by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein. AOL described the segment as one of the season’s darker cold opens. Will Ferrell appeared in that sketch as Epstein’s ghost, according to coverage aggregated by MSN and other outlets after the broadcast. (yahoo.com) The cold open set the tone for an episode that leaned on Ferrell’s return and a run of broader, more aggressive sketches. ### Why did Colin Jost’s hair become part of the story? TV Insider reported that Jost nearly underwent a live haircut during the finale’s annual “Weekend Update” joke swap with Michael Che. (aol.com) In the segment, Jost read an apology line about sacrificing “my beautiful, award-winning, world-famous … hair” before a barber was brought to the desk with clippers. (msn.com) Art Threat said the stunt happened during the May 16 finale and was triggered by Che during the pair’s recurring joke-swap routine. NBC later posted the segment separately, describing it as a season-finale joke swap in which Jost nearly got his head shaved. ### What did Jost say afterward? TV Insider reported that Jost later said he believed the haircut might actually happen live on television. (tvinsider.com) The outlet said he briefly extended the gag by appearing with a bald look at the end of the episode. AOL, in a follow-up item, also reported that Jost explained the moment after the broadcast and said he had gone along with the bit as it unfolded. (artthreat.net) Yahoo separately reported that he appeared in a bald cap near the close of the show after the desk segment. ### What did Paul McCartney do on the finale? Paul McCartney performed on the May 16 finale and then returned for a surprise third song at the end of the show, Deadline reported. (tvinsider.com) Billboard said McCartney played three songs across the night and also appeared in the monologue and sketches. NBC and its affiliated outlets are continuing to circulate clips from the May 16 finale, including the “Weekend Update” joke swap, while the Ferrell-McCartney episode stands as the second-highest-rated installment of Season 51 by Showbiz411’s count. (aol.com) (nbc.com) (deadline.com)