SNL Season 52 Premiere Review: “Mam-Dreamy”

The SNL Mamdani Trump cold open is the Season 52 premiere’s first statement, and it’s a strong one. New York is the show’s home and, right now, New York City politics is where the material is. Smart place to start.

SNL Mamdani Trump Cold Open: Mam-Dreamy

Grade: A-

The SNL Mamdani Trump cold open runs a deceptively simple premise: Trump keeps turning up at Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office during a nor’easter because he just genuinely, inexplicably likes the man. The bromance framing is sharper than straight political parody would be — it’s built on something real and weird about the actual dynamic between Trump and the progressive Queens-born mayor he’s been publicly warm toward all year.

The jokes land in the specifics. “I could have grown up in one of your apartment buildings in Queens — not with that last name” is the tightest line in the sketch. The AI dinner aside — Sam Altman, Musk, and Zuckerberg at the table making Trump think “RFK Jr.’s probably right about those vaccines” — is quick and brutal. The Natalie Harp bit, running from DC in a nor’easter “Weapons-style” and humming Beyoncé, is the right kind of strange. And the button earns its “Live from New York”: Mamdani gets Trump’s agreement on $21 billion in Queens housing in exchange for an Instagram follow. That’s a real joke with a real shape.

“Mam-dreamy” is going to travel.

Jalen Brunson Monologue

Host Grade: B+

Brunson opens with the most disarmingly honest self-assessment a premiere host has delivered in recent memory: “You can probably tell by my voice and face” that he’s not entirely comfortable up there. The structure gag that follows — first three quarters of the show are going to be godawful, last sketch amazing — only works because Brunson is genuinely likable enough to make self-deprecation feel like confidence. He pulls it off.

The Stephen A. Smith cameo is cut at exactly the right moment. Smith has barely cleared his throat when Brunson waves him off: “How long is this going to go? About another seven minutes. Yeah, forget it.” Economy of joke.

The teammates segment carries the monologue. Mikal Bridges gets a genuinely melancholy laugh with the wingspan bit (“I’ll never fly”). OG Anunoby gets the biggest crowd reaction of the night with the Game 4 tip-in callback. And Josh Hart’s AI deepfake layup miss is the best joke in the room — “AI be looking so real these days, bro!” delivered with just enough wounded protest to make you wonder if he’s entirely in on it. The $113 million pay cut question (“Is that money, like, still up for grabs?”) is the clean closer.

The Taylor and Travis MSG wedding aside lands too. But what the transcript can’t fully capture is the vibe Brunson brought to the stage — this is a guy who grew up in New Jersey, made himself into an NBA champion through sheer accumulation of will, and somehow ended up behind the SNL monologue mic on a Saturday night in September. He never looked like he belonged there in the conventional sense. He looked like someone who couldn’t quite believe he was there — and that’s exactly what made it work. Brunson is not a performer. He’s a point guard. And somehow that’s funnier.

Season 52 Premiere Verdict

Episode Grade: B+

On the strength of the SNL Mamdani Trump cold open alone this is a confident season opener. The show knows what it has in the current political moment and went straight at it. Brunson is more charming than polished, which is the correct mode for an athlete host.

BEST SKETCH: The Trump-Mamdani cold open — built on a real dynamic, lands a real button, leaves a real catchphrase.

MVP: Whoever is carrying the Trump impression this season — “You’re in most of my dreams / I call you Mam-dreamy / Pick me, choose me, love me” requires commitment, and it was fully delivered.

Next up: Dakota Johnson hosts Episode 2 — with a Taylor Swift surprise in the monologue and Pete Hegseth’s slam poetry in the cold open.

Host: Jalen Brunson | Musical Guest: KATSEYE | NBC/Peacock

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