Ratings Analysis: Natasha Lyonne and Japanese Breakfast were on deck for a 'Saturday Night Live' season finale (0.81) that marked the departure of multiple, noteworthy cast-members. Despite all the buzz surrounding it, the NBC sketch-comedy merely held even with the Gomez-Malone episode from the week prior. 'SNL' had much less lead-in help than usual from a 'USFL: Panthers v. Stallions' game (0.14) that was a good bit below the typical 'Dateline' rerun or 'SNL Vintage'. ABC dominated the primetime hours as their 'Heat v. Celtics' NBA Playoffs game (2.11) demolished the competition. The 8PM 'NBA Countdown' broadcast (0.54) was nowhere near as massive but still topped its hour. On CBS, '48 Hours' (0.24, +0.06) rebounded rather nicely after taking a week off. Repeats of 'FBI: Most Wanted' (0.20) and '48 Hours' itself (0.20) preceded the original telecast. The CW's 'Would I Lie To You?' (0.06, +0.01) inched up while 'Masters of Illusion' (0.09, +0.05) soared. The 8PM rerun of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' (0.08) and 9:30PM encore of 'Masters of Illusion' (0.08) both beat out Fox's puny 'MLS Soccer' broadcast (0.06).
Finals Update: 'NBA Playoffs: Heat v. Celtics' (+0.6) adjusted up. 'NBA Countdown' (-0.4) and 'USFL: Panthers v. Stallions' (-0.1) adjusted down.
(R) = repeat
(F) = finale
