SNL feeling born again

Weekend comedy staple enjoys ratings revival

For a show that one high-profile hate-watcher has called boring, unfunny and really bad television (with an exclamation point, always with an exclamation point), Saturday Night Live isn’t doing too badly in its 42nd season.

After Melissa McCarthy’s surprise Feb. 5 debut as White House press secretary Sean Spicer went viral, the following week’s episode hosted by Donald- Trumpportrayer Alec Baldwin gave the sketch-comedy its best U.S. metered market household ratings in six years.

Up here in Canada, SNL elbowed its way into the No. 5 spot, bruising regular top performers Grey’s Anatomy, Blue Bloods and Hawaii Five-0. A full 1.9 million viewers tuned in to see McCarthy return as a Segway-riding Spicer, Baldwin-as-Trump face The People’s Court, and Kate McKinnon shine as both Elizabeth Warren and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Grammy Awards put up a valiant effort for ratings supremacy, but it came in second to The Big Bang Theory. Bull and NCIS also jockeyed for the top spot, but let’s face it: Big Bang is the Teflon of television — nothing that beats it in the ratings will stick there for too long.

Across the country, the Grammys won out in the Greater Toronto Area, Global News topped things in Vancouver, and Big Bang ruled in Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal.

Here are the top programs in Canada for the week of Feb. 6-12, the most recent ratings available, courtesy of audience measurement organization Numeris:

1. The Big Bang Theory (Thurs.), CTV 2. Grammy Awards, City 3. Bull, Global 4. NCIS, Global 5. Saturday Night Live, Global 6. Grey’s Anatomy, CTV 7. Blue Bloods, CTV 8. Hawaii Five-0, Global 9. CTV Evening News, CTV 10. MacGyver, Global 11. This is Us, CTV 12. Criminal Minds, CTV 13. NCIS: New Orleans, Global 14. The Flash, CTV 15. Murdoch Mysteries, CBC 16. Chicago Fire, Global 17. The Blacklist, Global 18. Agents of SHIELD, CTV 19. Scorpion, City 20. Chicago Med, Global 21. Chicago P.D., Global 22. The Big Bang Theory (weeknights), CTV

23. CTV Evening News Weekend, CTV 24. Powerless, CTV 25. CTV National News, CTV 26. Blindspot, CTV 27. Cardinal, CTV 28. Quantico, CTV 29. Timeless, Global 30. Modern Family, City

HANDOUT Melissa McCarthy as Press Secretary Sean Spicer during Saturday Night Live on Feb. 11. McCarthy’s portrayal of Spicer and Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of his boss Donald Trump have helped revitalize the Saturday-night staple.