Eddie Murphy’s return to host Saturday Night Live after 35 years has helped the show earn its highest ratings in 11-years.
The 58-year-old star brought back several of his characters which helped the variety show earn 16.3 million total viewers with Live+7 DVR playback factored in according to a report from TVLine.
The impressive number is an audience high since the October 18, 2008 episode in which former US Vice President Sarah Palin made a cameo appearance. Josh Brolin had hosted and Adele was the musical guest.
That 11-year-old episode had drew 16.84 million which was a 14-year high at the time.
Living legend: Eddie Murphy helped Saturday Night Live earn 16.3 million total viewers with Live+7 DVR playback factored in according to a report from TVLine
Interesting: The impressive number is an audience high since the October 18, 2008 episode in which former US Vice President Sarah Palin made a cameo appearance
The audience increased for Eddie’s episode by 6.3 million viewers with Live+7 playback which is the largest gain of any broadcast-TV program since Manifest’s November 5, 2018 episode which added just under 7 million.
Last week Deadline had reported the original numbers in which the episode delivered a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, with 9.921 million viewers in Live+Same Day.
Those numbers were the highest since the May 13, 2017 episode of SNL, hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest HAIM, which earned a 2.7 rating in 18-49, with 10.382 million viewers.
Big ratings: Last week Deadline had reported the original numbers in which the episode delivered a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, with 9.921 million viewers in Live+Same Day
The 2.5 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic also ties the Season 2 premiere of Fox’s The Masked Singer as the highest-rated program on any network.
It was also the highest-rated comedy program since the series finale of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, which pulled a 3.2 rating in 18-49.
Murphy hosted with Lizzo as the musical guest, with guest appearances from Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Larry David, Maya Rudolph, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen and Rachel Dratch
Ratings hit: The 2.5 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic also ties the Season 2 premiere of Fox’s The Masked Singer as the highest-rated program on any network
The episode will also likely get a big boost from online viewing, with 29% of the show’s total viewed minutes coming from digital platforms.
Last week’s episode, hosted by Scarlett Johansson, generated 30.4 million views on YouTube in the week since the episodes videos debuted.
There are over eight videos with over a million views, and for this week’s episode, there are already three videos with over a million views – the cold open featuring the Democratic debate parody, Murphy’s monologue, and his Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood sketch.
Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood: There are over eight videos with over a million views, and for this week’s episode, there are already three videos with over a million views – the cold open featuring the Democratic debate parody, Murphy’s monologue, and his Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood sketch (above)
Murphy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980 at the age of 19, and he helped revitalize the show through his four seasons.
He hosted the show in 1984, becoming the only cast member to host the show while he was still part of the cast.
He returned briefly for the 40th Anniversary special but he returned to true form in last night’s episode, bringing back more of his iconic characters like Gumby, Velvet Jones and Buckwheat.
Buckwheat: He returned briefly for the 40th Anniversary special but he returned to true form in last night’s episode, bringing back more of his iconic characters like Gumby, Velvet Jones and Buckwheat
Murphy has been getting rave reviews for his new film Dolemite Is My Name, which is currently streaming on Netflix.
He is also slated to return as Prince Akeem in Coming 2 America, a sequel to his 1988 comedy Coming To America.
He is also attached to star in Triplets, a long-gestating sequel to Twins, and another sequel to Beverly Hills Cop.
Rave: Murphy has been getting rave reviews for his new film Dolemite Is My Name, which is currently streaming on Netflix