Taylor Swift Draws Big For “SNL,” Wanda Sykes Starts Solidly

In addition to drawing solid reviews for her “SNL” hosting debut, hit musician Taylor Swift brought attention to the late night standard.

Saturday’s Swift-hosted edition of “Saturday Night Live” posted a 5.0/13 metered market rating, which would be the best number for the show this season. Fueled by speculation about how she would handle her buzzworthy gossip items, namely the much-discussed incident with Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards, the show generated significant hype in the lead-up and ultimately paid off with a solid rating.

While reviews were not all glowing for Wanda Sykes’ late-night debut, her “The Wanda Sykes Show,: too, posted good numbers for FOX.

The show averaged a 2.2/5 rating in the slot; while quite a bit off the “SNL” mark, it is nonetheless an improvement from the last airings of previous occupants “Talk Show with Spike Feresten” and “MAD TV.”