UPDATE, 1:45 PM: Live plus same day numbers are in, and it shows Saturday Night Live hit a 12-year high for a week 2 telecast with its October 8 edition with host Lin-Manuel Miranda and musical guest Twenty One Pilots. The telecast averaged 7.140M viewers, highest for the second SNL of a new fall season since Oct. 9, 2004. The 7.140 million viewers is a jump of 24% or 1.4 million persons over the 5.749 million SNL averaged last year with October originals. In adults 18-49, last weekend’s telecast has averaged a 2.11/10 share in L+SD, best for a Week 2 SNL since October 5, 2013 (2.66 with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus).

PREVIOUS, Oct. 9, 9:22 AM: For a second consecutive week, Saturday Night Live‘s episode had great timing, leading to strong ratings. The premiere date had been planned months ahead to follow the first Presidential debate. The perfect timing of the second episode was a gift as it got to follow the biggest bombshell to hit the campaign this fall, the release of a tape of vulgar comments by Donald Trump caught on a hot mic. And because the tape came to light Friday afternoon, SNL was the first late-night show to be able to take a stab at the controversy. SNL did not waste time, taking on Trump and his apology in the cold open and skewering the Presidential candidate several more times during the episode.

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Buoyed by the anticipation of what the sketch show would do with the shocking development, SNL, hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, drew a 5.2 Live+same day household rating in the metered markets last night and a 2.4 in adults 18-49 in the markets with local people meters. While a little down from the much hyped season premiere last week (5.8 HH rating, 2.7 in 18-49), Episode 2 is currently equaling the show’s highest Week 2 rating in eight years in the metered markets. (Averages currently exclude Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and West Palm Beach, which were on storm coverage).

SNL continues to deliver its strongest ratings since the 2008 election, which featured another big draw for late-night comedians, GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Last night’s telecast featuring appearances by Alec Baldwin as Trump, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, equaled the show’s highest Week 2 household rating in the metered markets since the Palin-themed Sept. 20, 2008 edition, hosted by James Franco, which scored a 5.7 rating. It matched the Oct. 1, 2011 Week 2 telecast hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Lady Antebellum. In adult 18-49 results, last night’s 2.4 for SNL was the show’s highest Week 2 rating since Oct. 5, 2013 (2.7 with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus).