Inde Navarrette's hot streak is not ending anytime soon. The 'Obsession' star hosted the Halloween episode of 'Saturday Night Live' and delivered the sketch series its biggest audience of the season so far, with 5.2 million viewers tuning in. The figure sets a new high mark for Season 52 and extends a remarkable run for the young actor.
That showing puts Navarrette ahead of Season 52's previous hosts, a group that includes Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson, Dakota Johnson, whose episode featured a cameo from Taylor Swift, and Shane Gillis, whose booking proved controversial.
It also compares favorably with some of the biggest episodes in recent 'SNL' history. Across Season 51, only two installments surpassed 5.2 million viewers, and both relied on major star power, drawing on some of the biggest names in music and comedy.
The first was the December 2025 episode hosted by Ariana Grande, which doubled as Bowen Yang's final outing as a cast member and featured Cher as musical guest, reaching 5.4 million viewers. The second was the season finale, hosted by 'SNL' alum Will Ferrell with Paul McCartney as musical guest, which brought in 5.3 million viewers.
Navarrette's episode also notched the show's best performance on Peacock specifically since a Season 51 episode in March that featured Harry Styles as both host and musical guest. Among adults 18 to 49, it earned the program's strongest rating since the November 2024 episode hosted by John Mulaney.
The episode was a success on social media as well. Video content from the broadcast racked up 325 million views across YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, another season high for the show. Clips from the night proved especially popular online.
Navarrette was joined by musical guest Gracie Abrams. The episode also featured Tom Hanks reprising his David S. Pumpkins sketch alongside 'SNL' alum Bobby Moynihan.
Next up, on Nov. 7, 'SNL' will be hosted by Druski with the Strokes as musical guest. Then, on Nov. 14, Mulaney will return for his seventh hosting stint, joined by Phoebe Bridgers. Those two November episodes will show whether the show can carry forward the momentum from Navarrette's Halloween outing.
