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Louise Thomas
Editor
Saturday Night Live returns for its milestone 50th season tonight.
The new series will see a re-assembled lineup of familiar faces, plus three new cast members.
Punkie Johnson announced in August she would be leaving the show after four years, while Molly Kearney announced their departure after two seasons the following day. Earlier this month, it was announced Chloe Troast would also not return after one season as a featured player.
Perhaps the most anticipated casting of season 50 is Maya Rudolph who is reprising her Emmy-winning impression of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Rudolph gatecrashed a teaser for the new season’s first episode hosted by Jean Smart with musical guest Jelly Roll on Saturday. In the clip, the comedy actor broke into a broad Southern drawl, which may reference the memes surrounding Harris’s variable accent.
Who is hosting?
Just two weeks after her third Emmy win for her role as comedy diva Deborah Vance in HBO’s Hacks, Smart is set to kick off Season 50 as the host.
Smart is currently enjoying a TV renaissance after first winning hearts for her force-of-nature guest appearance on Frasier, which earned her the first of her three Emmys in 2000.
The actor will be joined by country star Jelly Roll, both making their SNL debuts. On October 5, comedian Nate Bargatze will take his second turn as host, with musical guest Coldplay.
They’ll be followed by Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks on October 12, Michael Keaton and Billie Eilish on October 19 and John Mulaney on November 2 with musical guest Chappell Roan.
How to watch
SNL will air live on NBC at 8:30pm PT/11:30pm ET. Viewers can also stream it on Peacock.
The show will celebrate a half-century on the air with a primetime special in February 2025.
Who is in the cast this year?
The trio of comedians who left during the summer will be replaced by new members including Curb Your Enthusiasm star Ashley Padilla, stand-up Emil Wakim and TikTok comedian Jane Wickline.
Many things will resume as normal, with Colin Jost back for another season of hosting “Weekend Update,” which he’s worked on since 2014. He will be joined again by his regular co-anchor Michael Che.
Other returning players include Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, James Austin Johnson, Andrew Dismukes, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.
