When news broke that Eddie Murphy would break his 35-year performance break and host Saturday Night Live, fans couldn’t contain themselves.
What We Know:
- Murphy’s audience increased by 6.3 million viewers, which represented the largest gain for any broadcast-TV program since November 2018 when Manifest premiered and brought just shy of 7 million viewers.
- Murphy was a popular cast member of SNL from 1980 to 1984. Murphy joined the show when he still was a teenager. After his departure, it was no denying that his presence was still missed. Murphy left SNL to pursue a movie career.
- It was also reported that tension was brewing between Murphy and comedian David Spade after Spade referred to Murphy as a falling star. The alleged incident resulted in Murphy refusing to participate in the shows comedy specials although he made a brief appearance in 2015. “What really irritated me about it at the time was that it was a career shot,” Eddie told Rolling Stone in 2011.
- When Murphy returned to Studio 8H, with his charm and his ability to make any performance funny and unique, one thing the actor didn’t do was disappoint. Murphy’s skits included cameos from Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Maya Rudolph.
SNL returns on Saturday, January 25, with Adam Driver as host and Halsey as a musical guest.
