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Season of television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fiftieth season of American sketch comedy late night television program Saturday Night Live is set to begin on September 28, 2024[1] on NBC,[2] with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll.[3] In addition to the standard episodes hosted by celebrity guests and featuring musical acts, the series will also have several months of acknowledgements, leading to a three-hour celebratory 50th anniversary special retrospective, which is set to air on February 16, 2025.[4]
Saturday Night Live | |
---|---|
Season 50 | |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 28, 2024 |
Season chronology | |
This season will be alternatively known as SNL50: The Anniversary Season.
Prior to the start of the season, Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloe Troast departed from the show.[5] Johnson joined in 2020, Kearney joined in 2022, and Troast joined the previous season.
On September 9th, three new cast members were added: Ashley Padilla of The Groundlings, stand-up comic Emil Wakim, and TikTok sketch comedienne Jane Wickline.
Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, all of whom joined the cast in 2022 along with Kearney, will be promoted to repertory status.
Repertory players |
Featured players |
|
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor
Prior to the start of the season, Allie Levitan, Moss Perricone, and Carl Tart joined the writing staff. In addition, writers Dan Bulla (who has written for the show since 2019) and Auguste White (who joined the writing staff back in 2022) have been promoted to writing supervisors, joining alongside current supervisors Celeste Yim and Will Stephen.[6]
In late 2021, long-time producer Lorne Michaels stated that he was committed to continuing on the series through the fiftieth season (at the time, the show was in its forty-seventh) and suggested that he may retire afterward.[7] The subsequent year, Kenan Thompson speculated that the series may end if Michaels left, saying, "He's the one that's had his touch on the whole thing . . . It opens the opportunity for a lot of bullshit to come into the game because he's such a legend that he keeps off those corporate wolves."[8] During season forty-nine, Michaels suggested that 2000s-era member Tina Fey could take over, but insisted that he would finish the next season before any dramatic changes.[9] He reiterated these plans in May, when a fiftieth anniversary special was announced that would celebrate the series' history on February 16, 2025.[10] Prior to the season start on September 28, NBC will begin retrospectives on the show with their mid-year coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics,[2] and Michaels intends to bring back everyone from the previous decades as well as hosts and a variety of musical guests who have helped shape the show.[11]
On July 31, it was announced that Maya Rudolph would return to portray vice president and presidential nominee Kamala Harris through the 2024 election season.[12] The next day, cast member Punkie Johnson announced that she would be leaving the show after four years.[13] On August 2, cast member Molly Kearney announced their departure after two seasons as a featured player.[14] On September 9, it was announced that Chloe Troast would also be departing after one season as a featured player.[15] On the same day, it was announced that three new cast members would be hired as featured players: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline. Featured players Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, who joined the cast along with Kearney prior to season 48, will be promoted to repertory status.[15] This season also marks Kenan Thompson's 20th season as a repertory cast member, becoming one during the 31st Season in 2005.
Coinciding with the fiftieth season, the biographical film Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, will be released in theaters by Columbia Pictures on October 11, 2024 after a limited theatrical release on September 27, depicting the story of the show's tumultuous premiere on NBC.[16]
No. overall | No. in season | Host [17] | Musical guest [17] | Original air date [17] | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
969 | 1 | Jean Smart | Jelly Roll | September 28, 2024 | TBD | |
| ||||||
970 | 2 | Nate Bargatze | Coldplay | October 5, 2024 | TBD | |
971 | 3 | Ariana Grande | Stevie Nicks | October 12, 2024 | TBD | |
972 | 4 | Michael Keaton | Billie Eilish | October 19, 2024 | TBD | |
973 | 5 | John Mulaney | Chappell Roan | November 2, 2024 | TBD |
Title | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|
"The 2024 SNL Election Special"[17] | November 4, 2024 | TBD | |
"Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special"[4] | February 16, 2025 | TBD | |
A three hour prime-time special celebrating SNL's 50th year on the air. This special will assemble together a large list of current and former cast members, hosts, and musical acts from throughout the show's fifty seasons. |
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