‘Saturday Night Live’ Meets David Cronenberg in SNL’s VP Debate Mashup of ‘The Fly’

Ryan Lattanzio
·2 min read
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You knew this was coming. Last night’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” not only recreated the Vice Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, but the fly that infamously lingered on Pence’s head last week during the televised head-to-head also made a very special appearance. David Cronenberg fans will recognize “SNL’s” mashup of his 1986 sci-fi movie “The Fly,” starring Jeff Goldblum, who’s channeled here by Jim Carrey as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Watch below.

The “debate” is moderated by Kate McKinnon as Susan Page (“I missed book club for this. Tonight we’ll be discussing a who-cares number of topics, each lasting I-couldn’t tell you minutes. But if anything’s going to be trending on Twitter tonight, it will be one of the humans involved in this debate.”). Meanwhile, guest Maya Rudolph reprised her role as Rudolph, with cast regular Beck Bennett starring as Mike Pence. Of course, Harris’ “I’m speaking” moment made it into the episode, to rowdy applause.

Joining the cold open was Kenan Thompson as Tea Party activist Herman Cain, who died of COVID-19 at the end of July.

The episode was hosted by comedian Bill Burr, delivering a controversial monologue targeting cancel culture, politics, and coronavirus. The co-creator and star of the Netflix series “F for Family,” which was just renewed for its fifth and final season, was most recently seen in Judd Apatow’s comedy film “The King of Staten Island.” The episode also featured two musical performances by Jack White, replacing country singer Morgan Wallen, once video surfaced of the singer partying without a mask at a crowded house party.

Last night’s episode marked the “Saturday Night Live” cast and crew’s second return to Studio 8H since the season premiere last weekend, hosted by Chris Rock with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion. Next week, on Saturday, October 17, “Insecure” creator Issa Rae will be hosting the episode, with Justin Bieber joining as the musical guest.

Like most other television productions, especially live ones, work on “Saturday Night Live” was negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The show’s team produced several virtual episodes via teleconferencing technology to a lukewarm reception earlier in the quarantine.

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