The viral Internet campaign did more than pressure NBC to book Betty White as the host of this week’s “Saturday Night Live”–it also helped make the episode “SNL”‘s most-watched outing since November 2008.
White’s episode drew a 5.1 adults 18-49 rating and an 8.8/21 household rating, the highest figures since the Ben Affleck-hosted episode more than a year-and-a-half ago. That episode also featured an appearance by Senator and then-presidential-hopeful John McCain.
The episode, which also brought back female “SNL” alumni in Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon, even outpaced this season’s much-hyped Charles Barkley-hosted episode.