Season 49 of Saturday Night Live is coming back in full swing with Pete Davidson (King Of Staten Island) as host. On Saturday, October 14, the beloved sketch show will have its first post-strike episode, starring Davidson as the host and musical guest Ice Spice. Leading up to this premiere, Davidson has made an appearance in the first promo video released for the new season.
The clip begins with cast members Bowen Yang (Bros) and Chloe Fineman (Father Of The Bride) chit-chatting about their summers. They make small talk and, surprisingly, make no mention of the WGA strike that cut the last season short and delayed this season. After Yang shares that he spent his entire summer just watching the show Suits, Davidson enters the scene behind the pair. In his usual casual demeanor, Davidson states that his apartment is under construction, so his new temporary home is 30 Rock itself. After a brief moment of confusion, Fineman clarifies to Davidson that only cast members or hosts can be in Studio 8H. To that, Davidson simply responds “Oh, OK, I’ll do that,” with a chill tone, “The host thing — I’ll host.” He then looks at the camera with a goofy, yet recognizable, grin. “That was my Keenan’s face,” clarifying to the audience that the familiar look was an imitation of beloved cast member, Keenan Thompson (Good Burger).
Davidson was previously a cast member for eight seasons before his departure in May of 2022. He was set to host in May 2023 for the season finale, but it was canceled due to the WGA strikes. SNL is one of the first shows to return to television post-WGA strike. This, along with late-night talk shows have all made a fierce comeback in the past week, all of which are scoring high audience ratings.
Saturday Night Live Season 49 will premiere on Saturday, October 14 at 11:30 pm EST on NBC. Watch the new promo starring Pete Davidson here!