Joe Biden did Saturday Night Live a favor, too

President Joe Biden completely upended the 2024 election by ending his reelection campaign. The Democrat almost immediately endeared himself to his party and earned constant praise for his decision. In the world of late-night TV, Biden's decision is also a major break for Saturday Night Live.

Politicians and pundits alike applauded President Biden for putting country first and not letting his ego potentially cost Democrats the White House. And it's looking like a wise decision as Vice President Kamala Harris has surged in the polls against Donald Trump.

That change atop the ticket led to speculation about who would portray Kamala Harris in Saturday Night Live's upcoming 50th season. The obvious choice is for Maya Rudolph to reprise her role and cameo throughout the year. It would certainly add more excitement to what should already be an electrifying season.

But even better than potentially having Rudolph consistently back in Studio 8H is the fact Saturday Night Live can retire its Joe Biden. By stepping aside, President Biden eliminated a weak spot in SNL's political parodies.

Eight different performers have played Joe Biden in 49 seasons of Saturday Night Live. Kevin Nealon did it first in 1991, and Mikey Day was the latest. Along the way, Jason Sudeikis, Alex Moffat, Woody Harrelson, Jim Carrey, and John Mulaney have all had a crack at playing Biden.

Outside of Sudeikis' iteration, no version of Biden on SNL has made a splash beyond the stunt casting. Day did his best in season 49, but sketches stuck with the low-hanging fruit that is Biden's age.

Four more years of Joe Biden would have meant four more years of old age jokes. A bit that was already stale likely wouldn't have improved, nor is it likely that SNL could get a Biden impression to make up for weak material.

Changing things up should not only invigorate the Democratic Party, but it should also shake things up at Saturday Night Live.

Joe Biden didn't give Saturday Night Live much material

Joe Biden's presidency was touted as a return to normalcy following the Donald Trump years. It also meant Saturday Night Live's cold opens and political sketches had to come back to Earth.

Trump provided late-night TV with more material than imaginable. Meanwhile, Joe Biden's gaffes never even came close to the same level. Like the rest of late-night, SNL struggled to parody or mock Biden.

Unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden doesn't have a bizarre collection of individuals in his orbit or administration. The Trump years gave us Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani, Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer, Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh, Beck Bennett as Mike Pence, and on and on.
Saturday Night Live didn't have that kind of inspiration from the Biden White House.

Kamala Harris is much closer to Biden than Trump on the spectrum. So it won't exactly be easy for Saturday Night Live to portray the vice president in a humorous light. Harris' age isn't an issue, there's no history of bizarre statements, and no cast of characters follow her around.

But with a much more dynamic personality and growing popularity, Kamala Harris should inspire more creativity from Saturday Night Live. Whether they call back Maya Rudolph or hand the role over to Ego Nwodim or Punkie Johnson (who's done it before), SNL has a chance to inject some life into its sketches. James Austin Johnson's version of Trump also deserves a worthy opponent.

We'll find out how Saturday Night Live responds to the gift of Joe Biden stepping aside when the new season begins on September 28.