For 50 years Saturday Night Live has been poking fun at popular culture, making audiences laugh, and opening its stage to exceptional music artists. The show was created by Lorne Michaels, and original cast members included the likes of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and many others performing 90 minutes of sketch comedy that would go on to permeate the zeitgeist.
This history was celebrated in February with a three-hour special. But now it’s time to move on to Season 51, premiering October 4.
Here’s everything you need to know, including cast changes, hosting duties, and ways to tune in.
SNL cast departures
SNL has launched the careers of many comedians over the years, including Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Eddie Murphy. Naturally, cast members come and go; the show’s schedule is very demanding and the series is just a small part of many performers’ overall career trajectory. (Kenan Thompson, who has been with the show for 22 years, has earned the title of longest-serving cast member.)
After the historic Season 50 wrapped, it was announced that several cast members would not be returning. That’s as Michaels told Puck in August he was facing “the pressure to reinvent.”
Cast members Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and Devon Walker are all out, as well as writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker, according to reporting by Rolling Stone.
Ego Nwodim was listed as active for Season 51 but announced her decision to leave the show in early September. During her appearance at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, she explained the move.
“SNL is always meant to be a stepping stone,” Nwodim said. “There are so many ideas I haven’t had time to create, and I’m looking forward to doing that. Things like directing and writing in a different capacity.”
Returning SNL cast members
Not everyone is leaving. Thompson will continue his long reign, and Michael Che and Colin Jost will continue to anchor the popular “Weekend Update” segment.
They will be joined by familiar faces James Austin Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, Marcello Hernández, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline.
SNL cast additions
There will be five new faces gracing the screen this season, including Veronika Slowikowska, who is best known for her internet comedy sketches and her appearances on Tires and What We Do in the Shadows, and Kam Patterson, known for her bold stand-up comedy. Also joining the cast are Jeremy Culhane, who is TikTok-famous and has appeared in American Vandal and The Sex Lives of College Girls, as well as Tommy Brennan, who was named Just for Laughs’ New Face of Comedy in 2023 and has also opened for Nikki Glaser and Taylor Tomlinson.
Ben Marshall, who was previously in the writer’s room and part of the video-producing trio “Please Don’t Destroy,” will make a move to join the cast. Please Don’t Destroy will no longer be affiliated with SNL, but the group is staying together. As for the other members of the trio, Martin Herlihy will stay on as a writer for SNL, but John Higgins will leave to pursue other creative avenues.
Host and musical guest for the Season 51 premiere
The first host of Season 51 is Bad Bunny. He is no stranger to SNL’s Studio 8H; he previously hosted during Season 49, and was the final musical guest of Season 50. It’s been a big week for the star: It was also announced he will headline next year’s Super Bowl LX halftime show. The first musical guest of this season is Doja Cat.
How to tune in
SNL’s Season 51 premiere airs October 4 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Traditional cable subscribers, and those with an over-the-air antenna with reception, are already all set for the laughs.
Cord-cutters can access the show on the Peacock streaming service, as well as a few others. YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and DIRECTV Stream all carry NBC in most cases, but make sure to double-check the services’ regional differences.