Saturday Night Live: Maya Rudolph returning as Kamala Harris
You can probably file this Saturday Night Live season 50 story away as “most inevitable one ever.” Maya Rudolph is going to play an important role on the late-night series this fall as Presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
From the moment that it was revealed that Harris would be seeking the office of President, there were jokes on social-media that the former cast member was going to have a lot more work. She has played Harris on numerous occasions in the past, and also boasts more of a physical similarity to the politician than any other cast member, past or present. (Deadline first reported Rudolph’s likely return.)
Does this return mean that Rudolph will play Kamala in the event she ends up becoming the first female President? That is most likely to be determined, as Maya has other responsibilities, including another season of her Apple TV+ comedy Loot. (Some of this may depend on how much SNL is really going to be doing spoofs of Harris at a certain point.) Also, there is a precedent for these roles being eventually handed over to current cast members over time. In the end, though, bringing on someone like Rudolph makes perfect sense to help get season 50 off to the strongest start possible, and she could easily pop in for some other sketches here and there.
There is no official premiere date yet for the landmark season 50, but we anticipate it back either in late September or early October. The next most-coveted role is obviously going to be the Vice President, though the cast member or celebrity selected will obviously depend on the choice. Given that the show already has an in-house Donald Trump at this point in James Austin Johnson, we have a hard time thinking that this is going to change.
Related – See more of our expectations entering Saturday Night Live this fall
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