Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are all doing great shows -- and people are responding:

“I think the gods smiled on us with the Palin thing,” Mr. Michaels said. “Like if he’d chosen Romney, I think it would be completely different.” In referring to Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential contender, Mr. Michaels added, “As exciting as a Romney-Biden debate would have been, it just would have been politics as usual.”

Ratings for the show, in its 34th season, are up 50 percent among all viewers this season, a move that defies every viewing trend in network television. Last week’s episode was seen by more than 10 million people, a figure that would make it a hit in prime time. Looking to capitalize on the surge in interest, “SNL” will have the first of three prime-time specials Thursday at 9:30, devoted specifically to the presidential race.

“There’s never been an election where we’ve been at the center of so much, except possibly Bush-Gore in 2000,” Mr. Michaels said. “It’s great for comedy, and it’s also great for broadcast television because it’s what we do at our best.”

It’s not bad for cable television either, in the form of the twin news-oriented late-night shows on Comedy Central. “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” reached record numbers of viewers last month, even topping some of the broadcast networks’ late-night shows.

“I think people are in a highly emotional state because of the election,” Mr. Stewart said. “It certainly is energizing the comedy world.”

“The Daily Show” averaged just under two million viewers for September, by far its best performance ever.

-----------------------

An Election to Laugh About

By BILL CARTER

Published: October 8, 2008

www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/arts/television/09live.html

The presidential race is proving that in television a rousing election lifts all political programs — especially the funny ones.

For late-night comedy shows specializing in topical satire, the rabid attention that millions of viewers are giving to the presidential (and vice presidential) contest is providing a jolt of ratings and creative energy.

“It does feel very intense,” said Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Thanks to widely talked-about impersonations of the candidates, especially Tina Fey’s dead-on portrayal of Gov. Sarah Palin, “SNL” has seen its audience explode this fall.

“I think the gods smiled on us with the Palin thing,” Mr. Michaels said. “Like if he’d chosen Romney, I think it would be completely different.” In referring to Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential contender, Mr. Michaels added, “As exciting as a Romney-Biden debate would have been, it just would have been politics as usual.”