Eddie Murphy and Lizzo wrap up SNL (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
In the epitome of an unsurprising outcome, the Eddie Murphy-Lizzo edition of “Saturday Night Live” drew big ratings.
According to preliminary data from NBC, Saturday’s “SNL” drew a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 9.92 million overall viewers. The numbers are the best since the Melissa McCarthy-HAIM episode in May 2017, which drew a 2.7 in the demo and 10.38 million in overall viewership.
Representing Murphy’s first appearance on a regular “SNL” episode in 35 years, the episode garnered massive hype ahead of the broadcast. Add in buzz over Lizzo and the usual support “SNL” receives for its end-of-year/Christmas episode, and the strong ratings performance was well-anticipated.
— Note: “SNL” typically shares overnight household ratings for “Saturday Night Live.” Its press alert did not include comparable data for this week’s episode, but it goes without saying that it markedly outperformed everything else this season.