As the writer’s strike has ended, late-night television is coming back. This past week, late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers have returned to our screens. But audiences were left wondering when the beloved live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live was going to be back on the air. But the wait is now over, as SNL has finally announced their first two shows back, who is going to be hosting, and a brand new cast member who is going to be joining in on the fun.
On Wednesday, the SNL social media accounts released to the public who the hosts are going to be for the upcoming premiere episodes. The first one is Pete Davidson (King Of Staten Island), an SNL alum who was set to host the season 48 finale back in May. But when WGA went on strike, the season was cut short, and the episode never happened. Now, he is being given time to shine as he will be the first host post-strike the season 49 premiere show on October 14 and the musical guest for the episode will be Ice Spice. Also announced was Bad Bunny doing double duty as both musical guest and host for the next weekend’s slot on the air.
Although SAG-AFTRA is still on strike as they try to make a deal with AMPTP, late-night shows are covered under the Network Code. This means that under this code, actors are able to host shows like SNL and appear on other late-night talk shows.
In addition to the announcement of the new season’s premiere dates, SNL also announced the newbie to the cast. Chloe Troast (The Basics) will be joining the cast as a featured member for season 49. Troast is no stranger to the cast of SNL, as she has worked with the video sketch group Please Don’t Destroy, which consists of the writers Ben Marshall (New Car), John Higgins (A Man Called Otto), and Martin Herlihy (Hubie Halloween), since their days at their alma mater New York University.
The cast will also consist of returning members, Michael Che (The Daily Show), Mikey Day (Hubie Halloween), Andrew Dismukes (Call Me Brother), Chloe Fineman (Father Of The Bride), Heidi Gardner (Hustle), Punkie Johnson (Bottoms), Colin Jost (Inside Jokes), Ego Nwodim (Spin Me Round), Kenan Thompson (Good Burger) and Bowen Yang (Bros). James Austin (Fairview) and Sarah Sherman (You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah) have been bumped up from being featured players to repertory status this upcoming season. The featured cast members will consist of Troast, Marcello Hernandez (The Improviser), Devon Walker (Big Mouth), Michael Longfellow (Assassin), and Molly Kearney (A League of Their Own).
Season 49 of Saturday Night Live will premiere on NBC on October 14 at 11:30 pm EST.