SNL feels more bipartisan following the midterms

The Ringer

"For a show that’s sprinted full-tilt into liberal poster child status through nearly two years, SNL’s first post-election episode had a strange unifying theme: bipartisanship," says Alison Herman, pointing to Liev Schreiber's patriotic monologue and U.S. Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw's surprise appearance on "Weekend Update." Yet she wonders if Saturday Night Live went too far with Pete Davidson's apology, considering Crenshaw's hard-right polarizing views. "With relatively sharp 'Weekend Update' jokes on the one side and the Crenshaw gambit on the other, SNL still tries to straddle the line between unifying entertainer and unabashed dart thrower," says Herman. "Davidson’s faux pas, followed by Davidson’s overcorrection, epitomizes the pitfalls of such waffling. Doubling down on the remark doubtless wouldn’t have been a good look; nor would shying away from the Republican Party to begin with. But this fruitless middle path was unflattering in a way that felt particular to SNL’s chronic identity split."

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