SNL turned back the clock for Eddie Murphy's return

Tracy Morgan, Dave Chapelle, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Kenan Thompson.

(Image credit: Screenshot/NBC)

last updated 22 December 2019

Nostalgia was in the air in New York on Saturday night.

For starters, NBC's Saturday Night Live brought back one of its most legendary performers after 35 years. Eddie Murphy hosted the show and revived some of his classic characters and sketches like Buckwheat and Mr. Robinson's neighborhood. Murphy, who was greeted by an audience chanting his name, was joined on stage for his opening monologue by two more SNL alums in Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock, as well as fellow comedian Dave Chapelle.

But that wasn't all. During the episode's cold open, a slew of ex-stars returned to portray Democratic presidential candidates in a spoof of Thursday's debate. Rachel Dratch portrayed Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jason Sudeikis reprised his role as former Vice President Joe Biden, Fred Armisen took on the role of billionaire Michael Bloomberg, and Maya Rudolph even dropped by to play Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Meanwhile, Larry David and Alec Baldwin were back as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a gatecrashing President Trump, respectively. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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