Every season of Saturday Night 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 entered the new season with a bang: A movie about its first episode, Saturday Night, came to theaters this fall. SNL will also be taking on a monumental presidential election in November.
Here’s what we know about SNL’s 50th season so far.
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 hails from the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings, which also gave us Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. She’s appeared on a few shows, like HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and NBC’s Night Court reboot.
Wakim is a stand-up comedian who was crowned the 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 nearly 1 million followers.
Returning main cast members 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 featured players last season, are moving 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 who have been announced thus far:
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Sept. 28: Jean Smart and Jelly Roll
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Oct. 5: Nate Bargatze and Coldplay
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Oct. 12: Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks
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Oct. 19: Michael Keaton and Billie Eilish
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Nov. 2: John Mulaney and Chappell Roan
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Nov. 9: Bill Burr and Mk.gee
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Nov. 16: Charli XCX
The political impressions
We’ve long been obsessed with casting celebrities as public figures on SNL. This season, the candidates have been selected — and many of them are current and former cast members.
Maya Rudolph plays presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. A number of people have played former President Donald Trump over the years, but James Austin Johnson has been on duty for the last four seasons.
Jim Gaffigan has stepped in to play Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Previous fan castings included Steve Martin, who told the Los Angeles Times he’s “not an impressionist,” John Goodman, Danny DeVito and Jim O’Heir. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has been played by cast member Bowen Yang, though in the past, fans suggested that Taran Killam, Zach Galifianakis or Shane Gillis give it a shot.
Former cast member Andy Samberg has appeared as second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Dana Carvey played President Biden.
The movie
The film Saturday Night, which had its wide theatrical release Oct. 11, follows the chaotic 90 minutes ahead of the 1975 premiere of the show. It’s 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 familiar roles with both famous faces and up-and-coming talent, from Dylan O’Brien to Gabriel LaBelle.
The anniversary
In 2020, showrunner Lorne Michaels suggested that he would step away from SNL after its milestone 50th season, but now he plans to stick around.
“I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it. There’s no immediate plan,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in September.
A three-hour special honoring the five decades of SNL will air Feb. 16, 2025.
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Update, Oct. 31, 2024: This story was originally published on Sept. 19, 2024 and has been updated to include new SNL hosts and musical guests appearing this season.
