Since Donald Trump's emergence on the political scene, late-night comics like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have made him a relentless target.

The media industry is crumbling, and late-night comedy on television has less than half of the audience than it had a decade ago.

“Saturday Night Live” scored its biggest season premiere audience in four years and second best in 12 years, emphasizing the importance of presidential election time for the NBC comedy show. During a busy week for news and sports, “Saturday Night Live” was the most-watched entertainment show, despite starting at 11:35 p.m. on the East Coast, the Nielsen company said. With 8.24 million viewers, it was the second most-watched “SNL” episode since May 2017, with the exception being last December's triumphant return of Eddie Murphy. “We needed ‘Saturday Night Live’ to rise to the occasion for this moment, and it didn't,” agreed Eric Deggans, critic for National Public Radio. “Debate Analysis,” NBC, 6.94 million.