New episodes of Saturday Night Live are right around the corner and the first wave of hosts and musical guests have been announced. This is the 50th season of SNL, so a lot of fans expect it to go all out and be one of the best years yet. That remains to be seen, but if the lineup announced is anything to go by, there’s a good chance things could shake out that way.
Jean Smart, fresh off her Emmy win for Max’s beloved series Hacks, is kicking off the season’s opening episode with musical guest Jelly Roll. The following week, October 5, is hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze with Coldplay as the musical guest. On October 12, Ariana Grande returns to SNL as the host with Stevie Nicks joining her as the musical guest. October 19 has Michael Keaton hosting with Billie Eilish as the musical guest. Rounding out the list of initial announcements, November 2’s episode is hosted by John Mulaney and breakout star Chappell Roan is the musical guest.
This is just the initial round of hosts announced, so don’t think the season will just end after five episodes. With it being an anniversary season, there are surely going to be plenty of returning cast members and stars as NBC celebrates the show’s history. Even if that doesn’t happen, the announced lineup is more than enough to get people interested.
What to expect from SNL Season 50
SNL head Lorne Michaels has reiterated time and time again that Season 50 will be his last, so there will be a lot of talk about who his successor will be. Nevertheless, it’s business as usual for Michaels as he gears up for another season of the late-night show that coincides with a presidential election. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Michaels talked about how he’s excited for both the show’s anniversary and the election.
“I think there’s two things happening at the same time at
SNL
: an election — and I’m tired of everybody telling us it’s the most consequential one in history because there’ve been a lot of big elections — and the 50th anniversary. And I want to celebrate this season with people coming back who’ve been part of the show and who love the show — not so much as hosts but just making appearances, and so the election is a chance for that because that’s five or six shows. So, Maya and some others coming back for the election will be fun for everybody. And, at the same time, there will be new people emerging, a different generation.”
There were many changes ahead of the season, and some fan-favorite cast members such as Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney aren’t making the return for Season 50. This is no surprise as SNL rotates new members in and out regularly, but these two departures came as a bit of a shock to longtime viewers. On the bright side, the initial lineup of hosts and musical guests is more than enough to get people excited for what’s in store. On top of that, there’s always the annual Michael Che and Colin Jost joke swap segment during the holiday season.