Maya Rudolph to return as Kamala Harris on ‘SNL’ through election

Actor and comedian Maya Rudolph is set to return to “Saturday Night Live” to portray Kamala Harris through the 2024 election, according to a Deadline report.

According to Deadline, Rudolph has worked out a deal to reprise her popular impression of Harris through November 2024.

It is not clear how many episodes she will appear on.

Rudolph had been scheduled to start shooting Season 3 of her Apple TV+ show “Loot” Aug. 26, 2024, but sources say the cast and crew have been notified that production is being pushed to January 2025 due for scheduling reasons.

“Loot” is produced primarily in the Los Angeles area, while “SNL” originates from Studio 8H in NBC’s Rockefeller Center headquarters.

Rudolph appeared on 143 episodes of “SNL” between 2000 and 2007 and has returned as a host as well. 

She first began portraying Harris in 2020, when Harris first entered the race for the Democratic nomination and it became a nearly instant fan favorite.

It’s unlikely that Rudolph could appear as Harris consistently without someone portraying her now adversary, Donald Trump.

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James Austin Johnson had been playing the role of Trump for the weekly show as of the end of the last season of “SNL,” though it’s not clear if he will continue in that capacity. It appears he played Trump as far back as 2021.

Johnson has also played the role of President Joe Biden (it would perhaps be interesting to see a sketch with Harris, Biden and Trump all at a campaign event together with the running gag being that Johnson has to flip between the roles of Trump and Biden).

Biden has also been portrayed by Mikey Day, while the role of Harris has also been given to Punkie Johnson.

Before that, Alec Baldwin famously took on the role of Trump on select episodes of “SNL,” but has not been seen in the role in since before Johnson took over.

Baldwin has been embroiled in legal battles stemming from the accidental shooting of a crew member during a film he was starring in, “Rust,” in October 2021. Since then Baldwin has largely sat out from major performances or appearances. 

“SNL” has a long history of venturing into political humor and contributing classic impressions of politicians to the zeitgeist, including Tina Fey as Gov. Sarah Palin, Kate McKinnon as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton.