Justin Timberlake earned rave reviews for his fifth turn as “Saturday Night Live” host this weekend, and the appearance succeeded for more than critical reasons.
According to NBC’s daily ratings release, the episode was the top-rated since the Charles Barkley-hosted edition on January 7, 2012. That episode, which featured Kelly Clarkson as musical guest, also benefited from airing on the same night as a primetime NFL Playoff game.
Timberlake’s episode scored a 5.9 overnight metered market number and a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating in the twenty five markets with local people meters. Those mark dramatic improvement from the 4.3 and 2.6, respectively, posted by last weekend’s Kevin Hart episode.