Ariana Grande gives 'Saturday Night Live' a 'Wicked' boost in ratings

Ariana Grande's hosting gig on Saturday Night Live Oct. 12 gave the veteran show, now in its 50th season, a big ratings boost.

According to LateNighter.com, the episode, which also featured Stevie Nicks as the musical guest, drew just under 5.6 million viewers, giving the show its biggest audience since a May 2021 episode with Elon Musk as host and Miley Cyrus as musical guest.

During the episode, Ariana played everything from an overly competitive suburban mom to a traumatized young boy during the Italian Renaissance to a bridesmaid singing off-key at an unfaithful bride's wedding. She also uncannily impersonated Jennifer Coolidge and Celine Dion.

The bridesmaid sketch seems to have captured fans' imagination: Ariana posted a video to her Instagram Story of fans dancing to the parody of "Espresso" that Ari and the SNL cast members sang in that sketch.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.