Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | CA Notice of Collection | Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertisement
Share
Television

Tracy Morgan gives ‘Saturday Night Live’ ratings a boost

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan returned to a familiar stage Saturday, hosting "Saturday Night Live" in his first appearance on the show since a vehicle crash that left him in a coma.

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan returned to a familiar stage Saturday, hosting “Saturday Night Live” in his first appearance on the show since a vehicle crash that left him in a coma.

(Dana Edelson / Associated Press)
By Saba Hamedy
Share

Viewers had #allthefeels when Tracy Morgan returned to "Saturday Night Live" to host, marking his first appearance on the show since a multi-vehicle car crash left him in a coma last year.

The "SNL" alum helped the show score a 4.2/11 in metered market households, according to early Nielsen ratings. It was ranked as the night's No. 1 telecast on the big four networks, both in metered-market households and the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic in local people meters.

The episode, which also featured musical guest Demi Lovato, matched the show's highest rating since Jan. 31, when J.K. Simmons hosted and D'Angelo and the Vanguard performed.

Morgan was joined by "30 Rock" co-stars Jack McBrayer, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Jane Krakowski. Larry David also made an appearance to play Bernie Sanders in the Democratic debate cold open.

The episode sparked 105,029 tweets a couple of hours before, during and a couple of hours after the broadcast, according to Nielsen TV ratings.

Of the tweets, 43,089 -- about 41% -- contained "reactions," or tweets with emotions, according to Canvs, a social TV platform. The company uses relevant tweets, provided by Nielsen, to gauge what emotions people have about TV. The tweets are then broken down into reactions.

An estimated 50% of the reaction tweets were emotions of "love," much of that geared toward "SNL," Morgan and more presidential election-related skits. About 13% expressed that the episode was "good" and 6% said it was funny.

Morgan was mentioned in about 6% of "reaction" tweets.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h

Television
Saba Hamedy

Saba Hamedy is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote about TV, the box office and digital entertainment. She also covered the Iranian community, national news and the business of Hollywood. Hamedy grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with degrees in journalism and political science.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Advertisement