SNL is a much better show in the post-Trump era, proving it never needed the former president to be funny

The Mary Sue

"For Donald Trump’s entire term, there was a weird, pervasive idea that he was good, even essential, for comedians," says Vivian Kane. "Late-night talk shows were especially thought to be dependent on Trump for material. What would they manage to do without Trump in office, asked the think pieces? The answer was always, obviously, that these shows and comedians would be fine. Trump may have dominated their topics for four years and fundamentally (though not necessarily irreversibly) changed the comedy landscape. Late-night has become a much more political space—the hosts have gone deeper and gotten more serious and, in many cases, angry. Audiences have become more politically savvy and they’ve tuned in for content that reflects that. But none of that means Trump was 'good' for comedy. That point has been proven by Saturday Night Live, which has been on a steady increase in quality over the last few weeks. The show has gone through constant peaks and valleys since its inception and everyone’s mileage on the show varies based on their personal taste, but a lot of viewers and critics are agreeing that the most recent episode, starring Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, was the series’ best in ages. And as far as I can remember, Trump wasn’t even mentioned once. Trump’s absence has allowed the show to be a bit more frivolous and invest in non-political material in a way it hasn’t in recent years. But they’ve also shown that just because we no longer have a president who’s guaranteed to provide more material in a week than a 90-minute satirical show could possibly cover, that doesn’t mean they’ve gone apolitical." ALSO: Fox News keeps doing stories on SNL not doing a President Biden sketch.