Druski’s episode may have underwhelmed The A.V. Club reviewer Jesse Hassenger (who claimed the energetic comedian “was fitting right in to a classic middling-to-bad episode of SNL“), but the comic’s legions of online fans undoubtedly followed the host to his first Saturday Night Live appearance. Apart from attracting the most viewers of the season (Druski’s 5.6 million viewer count surpassed Halloween host Inde Navarette’s 5.1 million), the November 4 episode is SNL‘s highest-rated entry since John Mulaney hosted on November 2, 2024. (Mulaney, seeking to keep the hot streak alive, hosts this Saturday’s episode alongside musical guest Phoebe Bridgers.)
Most likely to drive SNL‘s booking decisions regarding content creators like Druski, though, is the fact that the comic’s episode also drew a significantly larger percentage of younger viewers. According to LateNighter, Druski’s hosting gig pulled in a 22 percent share of the coveted 18-49 demo, an audience the 50-plus-year-old comedy series has struggled to attract in recent years. The episode also overperformed in morning-after views on Peacock and YouTube, with its cold open (featuring a cameo from recent Texas Senate winner James Talarico) racking up over 11 million views so far.
With Druski being the self-proclaimed first “internet content creator, social media influencer, only-make-you-laugh-on-your-phone, TikTok-and-Instagram-and-YouTube-star” to host Saturday Night Live, no doubt Lorne Michaels and company are scouring the web (or asking their younger writers to do it for them) searching for the next hot YouTuber to bring their advertiser-friendly young fans along to Studio 8H.
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