SNL cold open mocks spring break during the pandemic

Saturday Night Live returned after a month-long hiatus and immediately jumped into one of the week’s biggest stories. SNL’s cold open mocked the thousands of tourists who flocked to Miami for spring break despite the ongoing pandemic.

Late night television has been having a lot of fun at the expense of spring breakers. Hosts like Stephen Colbert sarcastically supported college students gathering in large groups without masks and breaking the curfew set in Miami Beach. The pandemic isn’t over but you wouldn’t know it by watching the scene in Florida.

The location is where Saturday Night Live set its cold open as it welcomed Maya Rudolph back to the show. Rudolph hosted the MTV game show “Snatched! Vaxed! or Waxed!” in which spring breakers are asked to prioritize looks over vaccinations.

The cold open gave SNL to target some of its favorite subjects: Florida, college students, millennials, anti-maskers, and more. Check out the sketch below:

It’s always a special cold open when the host makes an appearance. Typically fans have to wait until the monologue but SNL decided to get Maya Rudolph out front and center as early as possible. It was a sign of things to come as Rudolph put her full range of comedic talents on display all night.

The cold open was one of the shortest of the season and probably for good reason. While the concept was solid, the sketch seemed to lack energy and the audience wasn’t doing Rudolph, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Chris Redd any favors with its reaction.

Things definitely improved after the cold open, thanks in part to Rudolph’s popularity, the cast working with better material, and the audience being a bit more receptive. But regardless of how well the cold open landed, SNL was eager to pile on kids on spring break during a global pandemic.

This wasn’t the first vaccine game show used as an SNL cold open

Game show’s have been a staple of Saturday Night Live cold opens forever. Season 46 is no different as SNL writers have used the format to satirize and skewer stories surrounding the pandemic.

Back on Feb. 27, it was Kate McKinnon as Dr. Anthony Fauci hosting a vaccine game show. America’s favorite infectious disease specialist helped people figure out if they qualified for the vaccine. It was the polar opposite of the carefree spring breakers featured this week.

What did you think of this week’s cold open? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and keep checking Last Night On for more Saturday Night Live highlights, news, and analysis.