This is going to be huge. TVLine has reported that Alec Baldwin will be hosting the Feb. 11 episode of Saturday Night Live and that Ed Sheeran will be the musical guest for the episode.
The SNL Twitter page further confirmed that Baldwin will be hosting with a tweet showing Kristen Stewart will be hosting the Feb. 4 episode with Alessia Cara as the musical guest.
This will be Baldwin’s 17th time hosting the show, continuing in his record setting hosting streak. The previous record holder was Steve Martin, who had hosted the show 15 times before Baldwin broke the record in September 2011 when he hosted his 16th episode.
Since then, during the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special in 2015, Martin hosted and joked that he and Baldwin were officially tied again for the amount of times hosting.
Even though Baldwin has been a host of the show for 16, soon to be 17, episodes, he’s made countless appearances on the show over the years, most notably during the current season, where he’s portrayed President Donald Trump in multiple episodes of the season. He wasn’t present during the most recent episode, which was the episode that aired the day after the inauguration, but it’s highly likely his presidential alter ego will be making an appearance when Baldwin hosts on Feb. 11.
This past season has been something of a ratings renaissance for the show, which is currently in its 42nd season. TV by the Numbers reported that the show experienced an election year bump, something that has happened in previous election year seasons. Before the election, the show averaged a 2.3 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic and ratings for after the episode are at a 2.2 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic. Overall, the show is up 10 percent from last year in terms of ratings and is up 14 percent in terms of viewers.
This Saturday, SNL is airing a repeat of the Kristin Wiig hosted episode. Kristen Stewart will be hosting the Feb. 4 episode and Baldwin will host the Feb. 11 episode.