‘Saturday Night Live’ ratings: Finale with Louis CK scores lower ratings

The ratings are in for the season 40 finale of “Saturday Night Live,” and they certainly did not impress in the way that the 40th anniversary special or even the show last week hosted by Reese Witherspoon did. Overall, the series scored a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is decent for Louis CK but not exactly spectacular.

Typically, we do anticipate finales faring slightly better than this, but the problem here mostly is that CK is one of those comedians who is beloved by most critics, but is not the sort of mainstream star that will get millions of people watching. Just take a look at some of the ratings for his FX series as proof of that. Given that he has been nominated for awards out of hosting “SNL,” we are not that surprised that the show decided to go with him over someone who may be a little more noteworthy to the average American.

Still, we imagine that there may be many out there who are still wondering why there was not a notable alumni like an Amy Poehler or a Jimmy Fallon hosting the finale, and the simple answer to that is probably a simple matter of people who came back for the 40th anniversary wanting to have a little distance. We’ll be shocked if there is not an alumni either hosting or appearing in one of the first episodes next season.

Ultimately, we will have some more coverage of “SNL” over the course of the summer, since we do still have to talk about who we think could be fired / leaving the show, and who should be hosting in the future. One finale gift we have for you below is a deleted sketch from last night.

Head over here to read our full review of the CK show; also, sign up now to get some more TV updates on everything we cover, sent right to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eCVirBPnkQ