‘Saturday Night Live’: Decades of presidential parodies

This fall, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” returns to the airwaves to begin its 50th season. The first episode airs this weekend. The late-night live sketch comedy show, which features a large cast, a band, performances by a musical guest and a celebrity host, was created by Lorne Michaels and first aired on NBC on Oct. 11, 1975. George Carlin hosted the show.
“SNL” often parodies contemporary American culture and is famous for its political humor, especially in a presidential election year. It has a long history of iconic presidential parodies. “SNL” is expected to increase the number of political sketches as Maya Rudolph, an alum of the show, returns to play the role of Vice President Kamala Harris leading up to the presidential election. There will be six episodes of “SNL” before the election Nov. 5, giving the comic actors plenty of time to perfect their portrayals of political leaders.
Here are some of the show’s unforgettable political impressions over the decades.
If you want more “SNL,” mark your calendars for the theatrical release of “Saturday Night” on Oct 11. Significant since the “Saturday Night Live” was first broadcast on Oct. 11, 1975. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan. “Saturday Night” is a movie based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast. “Saturday Night” had its world premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on Aug. 31.
Sources: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; NBC; Universal; Getty Images