As Saturday Night Live closes the book on its 2025 TV run and bids farewell to fan favorite Bowen Yang, the long wait until Season 51 returns in the 2026 schedule has viewers revisiting the sketches that defined last year. One of the most electric moments came in a late 2024 cold open that blended politics, pop culture, and pure SNL audacity: Maya Rudolph sharing the stage with Kamala Harris herself, in a sketch that almost had Beyoncé at its center.
The sketch aired on November 3, 2024, just three days before Election Day, when the country was poised to decide between Harris and Donald Trump. The stakes were high, and SNL responded with a stacked lineup. Andy Samberg appeared as Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey reprised Joe Biden, and Jim Gaffigan took on Tim Walz. Still, the biggest gasp from the audience came when Harris walked out to join Rudolph, who has long been known for her spot-on impersonation of the vice president.
Months later, Rudolph reflected on the whirlwind process in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the idea came together at lightning speed. Inspired by Beyoncé’s involvement in Harris’ Houston campaign stop, Rudolph joked to SNL creator Lorne Michaels about the impossibility of playing both. Michaels, ever the quiet ringmaster, made a call. Beyoncé was unavailable, but Harris, then a presidential candidate, was game.
According to Rudolph, there was no certainty Harris would appear until the very last moment. She skipped dress rehearsal entirely, prompting the cast to prepare with Ego Nwodim as a backup. When Harris finally arrived, they ran through cue cards once and went live. It was Harris’ first and only run-through, straight to air.
That spontaneity fueled the moment’s electricity. The studio erupted so loudly that Harris’ opening lines were nearly swallowed by applause. The sketch went on to rack up more than 10 million views, becoming one of the most-watched political cold opens in recent SNL history.
For Rudolph, the experience stands apart from everything else in her long SNL tenure. She described feeling the room buzz, the audience leaning forward in real time, aware they were watching something fleeting and historic. With the episode now streaming on Peacock, it remains a reminder of SNL at its best, where comedy, politics, and surprise collide, and sometimes even Beyoncé is just one phone call away.
