Is There a New ‘SNL’ Episode Airing This Week?

Season 44 of “SNL” is now in full swing. In the most recent new episode, on Jan. 19, Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” hosted, and Alec Baldwin appeared once again in the cold open sketch as Donald Trump.

Baldwin has popped up far less often in season 44 than he did in the last two seasons, when he would appear as Donald Trump in the cold open most weeks. Last week marked his fourth appearance this season.

This week, on Saturday, Jan. 26, there will be a new episode of “SNL.” James McAvoy, star of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split,” will host the second new episode of 2019, with Meek Mill as musical guest.

Season 44 has been just about as intensely political as the past few years, with the season opening in September with a cold open sketch that starred Matt Damon as Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh in a bit parodying his confirmation hearings.

Then, in December, Damon became one of the rare “SNL” hosts to appear in the cold open of an episode he was hosting, bringing back his Kavanaugh impression for an “It’s a Wonderful Life” parody in which Donald Trump learns how much better off everyone, including himself, would be had he never been elected president. Damon was accompanied by Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson as the musical guests.

The season 44 premiere was eventful beyond just Damon’s appearance — musical guest Kanye West wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on stage and giving a pro-Donald Trump speech that didn’t air. Cast member Pete Davidson addressed West’s pro-Trump speech during the “Weekend Update” portion of the Oct. 6 episode the following week.

Also Read: The 20 Best Sketches of 'SNL' Season 43 Ranked (Photos)

The political bent has, of course, continued throughout the season. Ahead of the midterm elections, we got a cold open sketch that parodied Fox News’ hysterical coverage of the immigrant caravan ahead of this week’s midterm elections. The sketch saw cast member Kate McKinnon playing “Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham, with guest appearances by Kenan Thompson as right-wing former sheriff David Clarke and Cecily Strong popping up as “Judge” Jeanine Pirro. The three took turns spouting false narratives about the caravan and presenting videos of things like a mob of Black Friday shoppers and crabs scrambling around on a beach as being footage of the caravan.

We’ve been surprised to see Robert De Nero pop up fairly regularly as special counsel Robert Mueller — he showed up in two episodes late last season and has returned for several more episodes as Mueller in the past couple months, such as when he bid farewell to Kate McKinnon’s still tremendously impression Jeff Sessions impersonation after Sessions was fired as Attorney General.

Read original story Is There a New ‘SNL’ Episode Airing This Week? At TheWrap