Its hard to imagine better timing for the 44th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Just two days after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committees Ford-Kavanaugh hearings, the NBC sketch comedy returned to the air with a cold-open segment that focused on that particular political circus.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was, as you might expect, the focus of the opener but the big surprise was that special guest Matt Damon, rather than an SNL cast member, played him. The studio audience seemed thrilled, and social media exploded. And of this writing, the cold open, as posted to the official "SNL" YouTube channel, has racked up more than 11 million views.
To gauge viewer response to both the broadcast and online video versions of Matt Damons star turn, we worked with social video analytics company Tubular Labs and emotion measurement AI company Canvs.
Related: Heres Whos Watching Saturday Night Live and Where Theyre Watching It
But first, some background: According to Tubular, there's been a voracious appetite for clips related to the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings. Since Thursday, videos related to the topic that were uploaded to Facebook received 283 million views, while YouTube videos on the subject have been viewed 121 million times.
Looking specifically at the SNL cold open clip, it's generated 3.9 million views on Facebook and more than 12 million views on YouTube since it was posted early Sunday morning.
According to Canvs, positive emotions dominated during both the SNL premiere on NBC (which generated 48,771 Emotional Reactions) and the cold open clip that SNL uploaded to YouTube (10,760 ERs), with people primarily expressing love and laughter around the show.
Matt Damon, naturally, drove the bulk of emotional conversation for both.
Word cloud of the most-mentioned topics during the SNL premiere on NBC, via Canvs
Word cloud of the most-mentioned topics on the YouTube clip of Matt Damon's cold open, via Canvs
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Narrative Entertainment has partnered with Encompass to deliver high-quality subtitling of its Great! network content using the Altitude Intelligence AI assiste...
06/05/2026
SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, is proud to launch a dramatic new approach to AI content creati...
06/05/2026
When the broadband and media industry gathers at ANGA COM in Cologne from May 19 to 21, Big Blue Marble will be at the forefront. The international broadcast an...
06/05/2026
Cinegy GmbH, a leading developer of software-defined television technology, is proud to exhibit at MPTS for the first time. Visitors to the stand will discover ...
06/05/2026
Val Jeanty Receives 2026 Doris Duke Artist Award Jeanty, a composer, percussionist, and turntablist, is the fourth Berklee recipient of the prestigious award ...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
When live cycling races and international marathons stretch for miles across cities and countryside, there is no margin for RF failure in live broadcast. As Chi...
06/05/2026
Oberkochen/Germany, May 5, 2026
ZEISS announces the launch of CinCraft LensCore, a novel solution for creating physically based cinematic lens looks for visual...
06/05/2026
The race to build the world's most powerful AI factories demands networking ...
06/05/2026
How changes to proteins can alter drug interactions for new precision therapies Scripps Research team maps how chemical modifications to proteins affect drug bi...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Three phones were hardwired for power and transmission to the truck; camera feat...
05/05/2026
The creative studio behind campaigns for the NBA, Fanatics Sportsbook & Casino, ...
05/05/2026
Nielsen has announced results from a co-viewing pilot program covering February&...
05/05/2026
viztrick AiDi, an on-device AI solution developed by Nippon TV, delivered global...
05/05/2026
ARRI has announced Omnibar, a battery-powered, IP65-rated multi-color LED linear...
05/05/2026
Imagine Communications has announced that France T l visions is the first broadc...
05/05/2026
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Bell Media today announced a multiyear agreement to broadcast and stream WNBA games in Canada beginni...
05/05/2026
SVG is proud to announce Warner Bros. Discovery's Techwood Studios in Atlant...
05/05/2026
With no operator required, AutoMic workflow automates talent identification on U...
05/05/2026
A crash in 2015 set the industry back, but this winter proved that drones are he...
05/05/2026
Another year, and more proof that Asia continues to shape some of the world's most exciting new sounds. This year's RADAR artists draw from deep local r...
05/05/2026
The Austin City Limits Music Fest 2026 lineup just dropped, and this year, Spoti...
05/05/2026
New drum machine book campaign incoming
Bjooks have announced that during Superbooth 2026, they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product...
05/05/2026
Flagship all-in-one production bundle updated
The latest version of Native Instruments' flagship virtual instrument and plug-in bundle has just been ann...
05/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026, helping design engine...
05/05/2026
L3Harris provides communications, electronic warfare, sensors and mission systems that enable Virginia-class submarine crews to operate with confidence in conte...
05/05/2026
The company grew by 7.6% in net revenue and 16.3% in EBITDA, achieving a 33% inc...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Project Marks First Major Broadcast Deployment of Latest Addition to SNP Lineup
Imagine Communications today announced that France T l visions is the first br...
05/05/2026
Shotoku Broadcast Systems Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Award
Shotoku Broadcast Systems announced today that its Swoop range of robotic cranes has be...
05/05/2026
DigitalGlue's creative.space Intelligence Wins Future's Best of Show Award, Presented by TV Tech
creative.space Intelligence (CSI), part of the creativ...
05/05/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, will showcase next-generation broadcast workflows at the Media Production and Technology Show ...
05/05/2026
Stingr marks its launch with a new approach to second-screen interactivity
Brie Clayton May 5, 2026
0 Comments
Huge leap forward in revenues and engag...
05/05/2026
Shotoku Broadcast Systems Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Award
Brie Clayton May 5, 2026
0 Comments
Shotoku Broadcast Systems announced today tha...
05/05/2026
Following a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas, DHD will promote examples from its wide range of broadcast-quality audio production equipment at the May 13th-14th...
05/05/2026
LucidLink today announced its programme for MPTS 2026, where it will exhibit at Stand M59 at Olympia London, 13 to 14 May. The company will showcase its latest ...
05/05/2026
Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.3, the third platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform t...
05/05/2026
Huge leap forward in revenues and engagement...
05/05/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, has taken another significant step in st...
Its hard to imagine better timing for the 44th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Just two days after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committees Ford-Kavanaugh hearings, the NBC sketch comedy returned to the air with a cold-open segment that focused on that particular political circus.
