Andrew Dismukes (from left), Brandi Carlile, Miles Teller and Ashley Padilla appear in a promotional spot for "Saturday Night Live."

Days before New York City's mayoral election, "Saturday Night Live" is weighing in.

In its Nov. 1 cold open, the sketch show parodied the final New York City mayoral debate, with Miles Teller as Andrew Cuomo, Ramy Youssef as Zohran Mamdani and Shane Gillis as Curtis Sliwa.

"I know this city like the back of a woman's back," Teller said as Cuomo, the former governor of New York who resigned in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. He was elected as a Democrat but is running for mayor as an independent after losing the party's mayoral primary to Mamdani.

"As soon as you are elected mayor, everyone in the city immediately hates you, and in that way, I am already one step ahead of the game," Teller's Cuomo declared.

As Democratic nominee Mamdani, Youssef told voters he wanted to deliver free health care and Wi-Fi and affordable housing.

"As mayor, can I make that happen? I'm not sure yet," he said. "But together, we're going to find out − that the answer is no."

Sliwa, the Republican nominee, was portrayed as a non-serious third candidate, who repeatedly referenced being the victim of disturbing and violent encounters and said he wanted to be mayor because "I need a job." The sketch marked a "SNL" return for Gillis, who was hired for the show's cast in 2019 but quickly fired as a result of racist comments on a podcast. He has since returned to host twice.

James Austin Johnson's President Donald Trump eventually barged into the debate to promise that he's "going to be very involved" in New York politics and is "always watching, lurking in the shadows, much like the late, great Phantom of the Opera."

"SNL" was back on Nov. 1 after taking a week off. Sabrina Carpenter performed double duty as host and musical guest on the previous episode, which, in an unusual move, kicked off with a non-political cold open. Carpenter's episode began with a reprisal of the popular "Domingo" sketch, featuring a spoof of Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" from her latest album "The Life of a Showgirl."

But to make up for the lack of politics in the cold open, Carpenter's episode later featured Johnson as Trump in a sketch where the president made a surprise appearance on a podcast hosted by adolescent boys. In the sketch, Trump maintained that the No Kings protests against his administration were actually demonstrations in support of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, whose sentence Trump commuted.

Prior to Carpenter, former "SNL" cast member Amy Poehler hosted the Oct. 11 episode, in which she reunited with her former "Weekend Update" co-anchor Tina Fey. The pair played Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in the cold open, and they also teamed up with Seth Meyers for a star-studded "Weekend Update" segment.

The season premiere of "SNL" was hosted on Oct. 4 by Bad Bunny. The first sketch of the season mocked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with Colin Jost taking the role in a rare appearance on the show outside of "Weekend Update."

Who's hosting 'SNL' next?

"SNL" will be back next week with comedian Nikki Glaser hosting and Sombr serving as musical guest. This will be the "SNL" hosting debut for Glaser, who was emcee of the Golden Globe Awards in January and is set to return for the 2026 awards ceremony.

Glen Powell will host "SNL" on Nov. 15, the weekend his new action movie "The Running Man" hits theaters. Olivia Dean is set to serve as musical guest.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'SNL' takes on NYC mayoral debate in cold open with Miles Teller as Cuomo

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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