SNL Skewers Trump, FCC Over Late-Night Pressure

Saturday Night Live opened its 51st season with a cold open that skewered the Trump administration’s recent pressure on late-night television. The sketch had James Austin Johnson’s President Trump barging into Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth, warning “I’m keeping my eye on SNL,” threatening his “attack dog at the FCC” Brendan Carr and ending with “Daddy’s watching,” while Mikey Day’s Brendan Carr danced to Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me.” The sketch referenced ABC’s temporary pre-emption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! following Kimmel’s remarks referencing an assassination involving Charlie Kirk, and it arrived amid broader late-night turbulence including the announced end of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show. The premiere, hosted by Bad Bunny with musical guest Doja Cat, featured several new cast members and was widely read as a defiant signal that SNL will not tone down its political satire. The show closed with the traditional “Live from New York.”