“Mamala” is getting back to work, as Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live this fall as the NBC late-night comedy program covers the final stretch of the 2024 Presidential campaign.
Rudolph’s impersonation of Harris has been so popular, the moment the Vice President emerged as the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out on July 21, fans had been urging her to clear her schedule for an SNL return. And she has.
Deadline has learned that pre-production on Season 3 of Rudolph’s Apple TV+ comedy series Loot, which was scheduled to begin filming August 26, has been paused. According to sources, the cast and crew of the comedy series, which Rudolph headlines and executive produces, were told earlier this week that production has been pushed for scheduling reasons.
Loot is produced by NBC sibling Universal Television, which also produces Saturday Night Live alongside Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, making production schedules easier to sync up.
The upcoming milestone 50th season of SNL is set to premiere September 28.
SNL previously employed a similar stunt-casting strategy in the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential election with Jim Carrey and Rudolph playing Joe Biden and Harris from the start of the TV season in early October through December. Carrey relocated to New York, where SNL is based, for the duration.
Rudolph’s participation is expected to follow a similar trajectory — we hear Loot, which shoots in Los Angeles, is slated to begin production on Season 3 in January.
Rudolph’s Harris became an instant breakout (and a popular meme) when she was introduced in the cold open for the December 21, 2019 episode of SNL hosted by Eddie Murphy. Despite having a few lines in a star-studded Presidential debate cold open (you can watch it below), Rudolph won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020 her portrayal. The “Funt” aka America’s Fun Aunt is back.
Following the 2020 election, Rudolph has reprised her role as Harris a handful of times including during her March 2021 hosting stint, which earned her another Guest Actress In a Comedy Series Emmy.
Rudolph is currently nominated for four Emmys, including a Lead Actress In a Comedy Series for Loot and Guest Actress In a Comedy Series for her latest outing as SNL host this past season.
An SNL spokesperson did not return calls for comment.
