'Saturday Night Live' season 51 finishes strong in 18-49 demo

Saturday Night Live pulled off another successful season.

Season 51 finished its run as No. 1 among broadcast comedy series in the 18-49 demo (the show’s seventh consecutive season to do so), per Nielsen data.

It was also No. 3 among all entertainment series in the demo and, in terms of total viewers, Season 51 was No. 2 among broadcast comedies.

While it didn’t surpass the show’s special 50th anniversary season’s audience, Season 51 was still up 6% versus Season 49 and 5% versus Season 48 in total viewers, signaling some growth.

And, despite not meeting Season 50’s average, the Season 51 finale, with host Will Ferrell and musical guest Paul McCartney, was up 9% in total viewers compared to the 2025 season finale.

Per NBCUniversal, the most-watched telecast of the season across all platforms was the December 20 episode featuring host Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher, which drew 10.1M viewers. That episode also got the most social views of the season.

On Peacock alone, the October 4 season premiere with host Bad Bunny and musical guest Doja Cat came out on top. That episode also generated the most-viewed sketch of the season across social platforms, "El Chavo Del Ocho.”

The entire 2025-26 season tallied 8.2B view views - a 98% increase over the previous season.

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