Every season of Saturday evening live introduces the world to a slew of viral cultural moments, but the show is celebrating a huge milestone this year: its 50th season.
The live sketch comedy show started the new season with a bang: a film about the first episode, Saturday evening, hit theaters this fall. SNL will also host monumental presidential elections in November.
Here’s what we know SNL’It is the 50th season to date.
The cast
As always a new season of SNL means a new crop of comedians. This year’s additions are Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline.
Padilla comes from the Los Angeles comedy group The Groundlings, which also gave us Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. She has appeared in a few shows, such as HBO’s Limit your enthusiasm and NBCs Night Court restart.
Wakim is a stand-up comedian who was crowned New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 2022. He has opened for Roy Wood Jr., Nikki Glaser, Hasan Minhaj and Neal Brennan.
Wickline is a TikTok sensation with almost 1 million followers.
Returning leads include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang. Marcello Hernández, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, who were key players last season, move up to the main cast.
Chloe Troast, Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney have all left the show.
The hosts and musical guests
Here are the host and musical guests announced so far:
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September 28: Jean Smart and Jelly Roll
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October 5: Nate Bargatze and Coldplay
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October 12: Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks
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October 19: Michael Keaton and Billie Eilish
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November 2: John Mulaney and Chappell Roan
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November 9: Bill Burr and Mk.gee
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November 16: Charli XCX
The political impressions
We’ve long been obsessed with casting celebrities as public figures SNL. This season, the candidates have been selected – and many of them are current and former cast members.
Maya Rudolph plays presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. A number of people have played former President Donald Trump over the years, but James Austin Johnson has served for the past four seasons.
Jim Gaffigan has stepped in to play Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Previous fan casts include Steve Martin, who told the Los Angeles Times he is “not an impressionist,” John Goodman, Danny DeVito and Jim O’Heir. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, was played by cast member Bowen Yang, although fans have suggested in the past that Taran Killam, Zach Galifianakis or Shane Gillis might give it a try.
Former cast member Andy Samberg has appeared as second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Dana Carvey played President Biden.
The movie
The movie Saturday evening, which was released in theaters on October 11, follows the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the show’s premiere in 1975. It is not a product of SNL or its network, but features an ensemble cast that portrays the writers, actors and producers who made it all come together that very first night.
Director Jason Reitman and casting director John Papsidera told the Hollywood Reporter how they filled those well-known roles with both familiar faces and up-and-coming talent, from Dylan O’Brien to Gabriel LaBelle.
The anniversary
In 2020, showrunner Lorne Michaels suggested he step down SNL following his milestone 50th season, but now he plans to stay here.
“I just know that this is what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I will keep doing it. There is no immediate plan,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in September.
A three-hour special celebrating the five decades of SNL will air on February 16, 2025.
Looking for more recommendations? Check out our guides to the best fall entertainment.
Update, October 31, 2024: This story was originally published on September 19, 2024 and has been updated with new SNL hosts and musical guests performing this season.
