‘Saturday Night Live’ ratings: Chris Pratt’s show falls from 2013 premiere

While “Saturday Night Live” may be in the midst now of their incredible 40th season, that does not mean that we are seeing record ratings to go along with it. On the heels of what was one of the weakest seasons in years minus Bill Hader and many other favorites, the show is going to have to take some time to prove their good will to viewers once again.

So for the first episode hosted by Chris Pratt (read the review and watch the videos here), the show drew a decent 2.1 rating that is better than almost anything else original on TV, but down more than 20% from the show hosted by Tina Fey at this time last year. The show did just about everything that it could still to boost ratings, at least in that they hired a popular host with NBC connections already, and they even brought in a musical guest in Ariana Grande who has a following among young viewers. Still, this could only do so much to boost the numbers for the time being. (Ariana even made a cameo in one of the sketches.)

Will the ratings recover next week? We’d be surprised, given that Sarah Silverman, while hilarious, is also somewhat polarizing. She also did not have a big movie out this summer. The show to watch for us is on in just under two weeks on October 11, given that this marks the big return of Hader, who will likely bring with him beloved characters and great new impressions that we haven’t seen before.

What do you think about the ratings for the “SNL” premiere, and do you feel the show will recover over time? Share below, and sign up now in the event you want some further scoop on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: NBC