‘SNL’ Season 49: Top 10 Most Popular Sketches

Saturday Night Live just completed its 49th season, and for a show that’s still network-first, it draws an impressive number of viewers to its live broadcasts; despite airing at 11:30PM on the East Coast during a night not known for drawing huge ratings, it remains one of NBC’s most-watched entertainment programs on a week-to-week basis. But that doesn’t mean SNL doesn’t stream; full episodes are available on Peacock, and barring the occasional music-clearance issue, most individual sketches and segments wind up on YouTube, where anyone can check out which pieces get the most post-broadcast attention. So let’s break down Season 49 with a look at the ten most-watched sketches on YouTube. It’s an eclectic group, and despite the obvious advantage of sketches that aired earlier in the season (and therefore have more months online to gather more views), it doesn’t favor any particular hosts – except those named Ryan Gosling.

1. “Deion Sanders on Update” (Host: Pete Davidson): 4.93 million views

   This seems like it gained some advantage based on its position earlier in the season; Kenan Thompson is always a delight, but his impressions aren’t exactly known for their stunning accuracy, and Deion Sanders (there to discuss his coaching career) doesn’t exactly seem like a topical headliner. Several other sports-centric pieces hovered just under the top ten, so maybe online Saturday Night Live viewers are just way more into sports than some comedy nerds would ever guess.

2. “Trump Sneakers” (Shane Gillis): 4.95 million views

   Shane Gillis did a (kind of shaky) stand-up monologue when he came back to the show that fired him before he ever actually made it to air as a cast member, and while that was the most-viewed monologue of the season on YouTube, it also didn’t crack the Top 10. Instead, the rep from Gillis’s episode was a fake ad that included his Trump impression, positioned opposite James Austin Johnson’s in-house version. This feels like even more of a hat-tip to Gillis’s fanbase; only knowing him as a guy who does stand-up and has horrible-sounding podcasts, I had no idea Gillis had an OK Trump imitation in his arsenal, yet it’s trotted out as if the audience was wildly anticipating it. Anyway, it’s kind of funny, and the only Trump material that hit the top ten.

3. “Hooters Waitress” (Sydney Sweeney): 5.46 million views

   Sometimes you just can’t outdo the sight of Sydney Sweeney in a Hooters outfit. I’m not sure why – or rather, I know exactly why, but it’s not as if a cute (though not especially clever) sketch where her Hooters newbie puzzles over the outsized nature of tips is your only opportunity to ogle America’s sweetheart. Sweeney turns up everywhere via movies, TV shows and photoshoots. Then again, she’s not always flanked by Sarah Sherman and Chloe Fineman, or pouring beer into the mouth of Andrew Dismukes, so maybe YouTube viewers simply have a very specific set of needs that weren’t being met by the likes of The Voyeurs.

4. “Papyrus 2” (Ryan Gosling): 5.47 million views

   A landmark for the SNL charts because technically, this sketch didn’t actually air. It was cut for time – blame Gosling’s incessant crack-ups! – and one of the best things about the SNL YouTube channel is that it often posts material cut from dress rehearsal that couldn’t fit into the live broadcast. The sequel to Gosling’s pre-taped collaboration with writer Julio Torres, about a man haunted by a lazy font choice on the Avatar poster, was a bit higher-profile, as it was obviously intended to air, and even got an on-air promotional piece directing viewers to YouTube. So it makes sense that it wound up viewed more frequently than most of the season’s actual sketches – but that’s still quite a feat.

6. “Close Encounter” (Ryan Gosling): 5.8 million views

   Kate McKinnon returned to crack up Ryan Gosling in this reprisal of her recurring character whose alien-abduction experiences are inevitably far less ethereal and magical than those described by her fellow abductees. McKinnon’s weaponized goofiness turned out to be unnecessary; Gosling broke during just about every live sketch he appeared in. But people appreciated the encore anyway, perhaps seeking an origin point for Gosling’s giggles.

7. “State of the Union” (Josh Brolin): 5.95 million views

   What looks like a run-of-the-mill political cold open – which hasn’t been an SNL strong suit in many years – reveals its reason for posting good numbers about halfway through. There’s some material covering Mikey Day’s Biden at the State of the Union, but the highlight comes with a cameo from Scarlett Johansson (wife of longtime SNL staffer Colin Jost) playing Senator Katie Britt during her unhinged SOTU response. It’s a funnier and more cutting (if still relatively easy) bit of political satire than almost any of the season’s other openers, so fair enough that ScarJo drew people’s eyeballs to it.

8. “Protective Mom 2” (Bad Bunny): 5.97 million views

   On the other end of the spectrum from “Washington’s Dream,” this drag act, which originated in an earlier Pedro Pascal-hosted episode, is pretty broad. But seemingly emerging audience fave Marcello Hernandez, plus musician Bad Bunny in drag, plus a returning Pedro Pascal add up to a handily buzzworthy clip, even if it’s far from a highlight of Season 49’s writing.

9. “Washington’s Dream” (Nate Bargatze): 8.7 million views

   Easily the best-constructed sketch on this list, and a potent reminder that sometimes audiences do get excited about SNL bits that deserve a place in the sketch-comedy pantheon. The underplayed style of comedian Nate Bargatze is perfect for this observational sketch holding up future American “weights and measures” and their utter incompatibility with the rest of the world (or sometimes themselves) as an inexplicable point of pride for Revolutionary War-era George Washington. It’s an instant classic, simple as that.  

10. “I’m Just Pete” (Pete Davidson): 13 million views

    The power of Gosling is seen not just in him being the only host to appear in multiple sketches on the most-streamed list, but the fact that the second-most-streamed sketch is directly based on his ubiquitous “I’m Just Ken” song from Barbie, belatedly parodied in the season premiere as “I’m Just Pete.” Not the most inventive riff, but then, selling slightly undercooked material with goofy charm is kind of Davidson’s whole deal.

11. “Beavis and Butt-Head” (Ryan Gosling): 14 million views

    This shouldn’t come as a major surprise to anyone on social media the weekend this episode aired. The combination of a big star (Ryan Gosling), truly memorable make-up that made said star (alongside mainstay Mikey Day) look like a famous cartoon character, and the spectacle of multiple cast members following Gosling’s lead in his inability to keep it together made this sketch a viral sensation. What holds the sketch together, though, is the anti-spectacle of Gosling and Day not doing vocal impressions of the characters, despite their eminently imitable mannerisms. The outrageously outfitted and coiffed dudes affecting mild-mannered, even-keeled personas despite their resemblance to the seminal metalheads adds some much-needed understatement to a very silly sketch.

Which sketch was your favorite? Let us know below in the comments!

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.