America is in the home stretch of a shortened presidential race unlike any other. But after the chaos of the past few months, one thing is certain: “Saturday Night Live” will be there to stir things up.

NBC’s historical sketch comedy series returns this weekend just in time to satirize the recast battle for the White House. “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris. “SNL” cast member James Austin Johnson will once again don a red tie to play former President Donald Trump.

The snap election isn’t the only reason this season is high-wattage. “SNL” turns 50, meaning a show once synonymous with the energy of the 1970s counterculture is now eligible for an AARP card. It’s a milestone that the network plans to commemorate with a three-hour primetime special on February 16 – a Sunday. (“SNL” and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal.)

But first comes Saturday’s season premiere with host Jean Smart, fresh off her third Emmy win for her role in “Hacks,” and musical guest Jelly Roll, who performed during the Emmys’ in memoriam tribute. Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s safe to assume that the five-week sprint to Election Day will be the focus of the episode. “SNL” has struck comedic gold in presidential politics since it debuted in 1975 and Chevy Chase caricatured President Gerald Ford as a pratfalling klutz. In the decades since, political parodies have been a staple of the show, from Dana Carvey as President George HW Bush (“A Thousand Points of Light”) to Tina Fey as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (“I can see Russia from my house!” during the 2008 elections.

“’SNL’ has always helped us work through the absurdities of the week in politics through sketch comedy. It can be a cathartic process for people, so the show plays an important role,” said Jeffrey P. Jones, a professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia who has written scholarly essays on “SNL” and politics.

Rudolph, who spoke to Variety this month for a profile, nodded to the high stakes of the election and Harris’ historic candidacy, saying in part that the role was “bigger than me, and this is about something very important.” She added: “I’m excited to be associated with it, and I’m also happy that I played her and everyone is cool with it. She likes it.”

Meanwhile, when it comes to Johnson’s incarnation of Trump, “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels has said viewers can expect a slightly different take on the Republican nominee, who is embodied on the show by six performers — including Emmy-winning Alec Baldwin . for the role in 2017.

“Trump has changed. James, who I think is brilliant, played Trump as the kind of diminished Trump,” Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter. “The guy in the back of the hardware store who held court, and played it because it felt relevant. But we will have to reinvent it, because you have seen the debate.”

Michaels and the “SNL” team have remained mum about the artists lined up to portray the vice presidential candidates, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. (Fun fact: “The Sixth Sense” star Haley Joel Osment impersonated Vance on a recent episode of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”)

In the days after Harris selected Walz as his running mate, social media flooded with casting ideas. The most popular: Steve Martin, a 16-time “SNL” host and, like Walz, a man of a certain age with wispy white hair. However, Martin turned down the role, telling The Los Angeles Times, “You need someone who can really get the guy.”