Saturday Night Live: Taran Killam talks Donald Trump hosting gig
Taran Killam was a part of that episode, and even briefly impersonated Trump on the show before Darrell Hammond and then Alec Baldwin took on the duties. Speaking to Brooklyn Magazine, he did his part to make it clear that it was not the warmest of environment back when he was hosting:
“It was not fun, and most of the cast and writers were not excited to have him there. I didn’t get the feeling that he was excited to be there, and it felt like a move for ratings from both sides … What you see is what you get with him, really. I mean, there was no big reveal. He struggled to read at the table read, which did not give many of us great confidence. Didn’t get the jokes, really. He’s just a man who seems to be powered by bluster.”
While Trump’s show did draw enormous ratings, we’re not sure there was any sort of lasting impact given that many of those viewers didn’t stick around in subsequent weeks. One of the big things that you do have to remember with a show like Saturday Night Live is that a big percentage of your success is quality-based. You need to be able to figure out a way in which to drive viewers to the show because they’re enjoying what they are seeing. Otherwise, they are fairly liable to walk off into the sunset disappointed.
In the end, the big thing here when it comes to the Trump episode is that it’s something that really should never happen again, at least when it comes to a politician running for office. It doesn’t matter what the political party is, because they’re so caught up in trying to appease certain voters that it’s hard to get an honest, funny, or interesting show. There has to be a better way to do things.
This weekend, there is likely going to be a very funny edition of Saturday Night Live coming up hosted by none other than Louis CK. If you do want to get some additional news on that episode, including a promo, you can do that by heading over here. (Photo: NBC.)