Topic: Lorne Michaels

Saturday Night Live opened its new season with a 15-minute parody of the first presidential debate featuring Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Jim Carrey as Joe Biden. The sketch included a segment where Carrey's Biden uses a remote control to freeze Trump while addressing the audience about "science and karma" regarding the virus. Cast members Michael Che and Colin Jost discussed the difficulty of writing jokes about the President's hospitalization during Weekend Update.

Comedian Shane Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live shortly after being hired due to the resurfacing of racist and homophobic remarks made on a podcast. The hosts discuss the role of advertisers in driving these decisions and compare the situation to other comedians like Bill Burr and Dave Chappelle who are pushing back against "cancel culture" in their Netflix specials.

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, produced by Lorne Michaels, drew a record-low audience of 10.2 million viewers, an 11% decline. The broadcast is criticized for its lack of entertainment value and perceived focus on identity politics over merit. The opening monologue and musical numbers are described as lackluster and insulting to the audience.