History of Saturday Night Live (2020–present)

History of Saturday Night Live series:

1975–1980 (seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 1980–1985 (seasons 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) 1985–1990 (seasons 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) 1990–1995 (seasons 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) 1995–2000 (seasons 21, 22, 23, 24, 25) 2000–2005 (seasons 26, 27, 28, 29, 30) 2005–2010 (seasons 31, 32, 33, 34, 35) 2010–2015 (seasons 36, 37, 38, 39, 40) 2015–2020 (seasons 41, 42, 43, 44, 45) 2020–present (seasons 46, 47, 48, 49) Weekend Update

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

2020–2021 season

Main article: Saturday Night Live (season 46)

The 46th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 3, 2020, with host Chris Rock and musical guest Megan Thee Stallion, and concluded on May 22, 2021, with host Anya Taylor-Joy and musical guest Lil Nas X.^[1]

On September 15, 2020, it was announced that the entire cast from last season will return, with Ego Nwodim being promoted to repertory status^[2][6], while Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, both of whom had been hired in 2019 for the previous season, remained as featured players.

The next day brought the announcement of three new cast members: SNL writer/stand-up comic Andrew Dismukes, L.A. Upright Citizens Brigade alum Lauren Holt, and stand-up comedian Punkie Johnson, the show's second African-American lesbian cast member after Danitra Vance from the 1985–1986 season.^[3]

Though not members of the cast, it was announced the same day that Alec Baldwin and Maya Rudolph would reprise their respective roles as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris,^[4] while Jim Carrey would take over impersonating Joe Biden.^[5] Biden had been portrayed by Jason Sudeikis while he was vice president and by Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, and Sudeikis the previous season. On December 19, Carrey announced he would step down from playing Biden, stating it was the original intention that he would play Biden for only six weeks.^[6] Then-current cast member Alex Moffat succeeded Carrey to portray as Biden during the cold open of the episode hosted by Kristen Wiig.^[7]

Cecily Strong was absent from the first six episodes of the season due to filming commitments for her Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon!. Aidy Bryant appeared in the season premiere before taking an extended absence due to filming commitments for her show Shrill.^[8][9]

This was the final season for longtime cast member Beck Bennett, who had been on the show since 2013, a total of 8 seasons. It was also Holt's only season on the show, as she was let go after the finale.

Repertory players Beck Bennett Aidy Bryant Michael Che Pete Davidson Mikey Day Heidi Gardner Colin Jost Kate McKinnon Alex Moffat Kyle Mooney Ego Nwodim Chris Redd Cecily Strong Kenan Thompson Melissa Villaseñor

Featured players Andrew Dismukes Chloe Fineman Lauren Holt Punkie Johnson Bowen Yang

2021–2022 season

Main article: Saturday Night Live (season 47)

The 47th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 2, 2021 with host Owen Wilson and musical guest Kacey Musgraves,^[10] and concluded on May 21, 2022 with host Natasha Lyonne and musical guest Japanese Breakfast.

On September 27, 2021, five days before the season premiere, it was announced that Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt had both left the show. Bennett had been part of the cast since 2013, while Holt had been in for just Season 46. The rest of the cast from the previous season was retained. Three new featured players were added: actor/comedian and filmmaker Aristotle Athari, impressionist James Austin Johnson, and surrealist comedian Sarah Sherman.^[11] Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, who had been with the cast since Season 45, were both promoted to repertory status, while Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson, who joined the previous season, remained as featured players.^[12]

This was the final season for Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant, who both had been cast members since 2012, Kyle Mooney who had been a cast member since 2013, and Pete Davidson, who had been with the cast since 2014.^[13]

On September 1, 2022, it was announced that Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat (both previously cast members since 2016) and Athari (who only lasted one season) would also not be returning for Season 48,^[14] and then on September 19, 2022, it was announced that Chris Redd (a cast member since 2017) was also exiting the show.^[15]

Repertory players Aidy Bryant Michael Che Pete Davidson Mikey Day Chloe Fineman Heidi Gardner Colin Jost Kate McKinnon Alex Moffat Kyle Mooney Ego Nwodim Chris Redd Cecily Strong Kenan Thompson Melissa Villaseñor Bowen Yang

Featured players Aristotle Athari Andrew Dismukes James Austin Johnson Punkie Johnson Sarah Sherman

2022–2023 season

Main article: Saturday Night Live (season 48)

The 48th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 1, 2022, with host Miles Teller and musical guest Kendrick Lamar, and concluded on April 15, 2023, with host Ana de Armas and musical guest Karol G.^[16] The season was originally set to conclude on May 20, 2023, but it was cut short due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.^[17][18] Before the start of the season, eight cast members (Aristotle Athari, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor) had all left the show. In addition, executive producer Lorne Michaels called this season a "transition year", and revealed that 4 new cast members will be joining the show this season.^[19] Three days later, those four cast members were announced as Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.^[20] Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson, who had been cast members since 2020, were promoted to repertory players, while James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who joined the previous season, remained as featured players. Cecily Strong was absent from the first three episodes of the season due to her commitments to the Los Angeles revival of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and returned for the October 29, 2022 episode.^[21][22] Strong would later leave the show altogether in mid-December, her final episode airing on December 17, 2022.

Repertory players Michael Che Mikey Day Andrew Dismukes Chloe Fineman Heidi Gardner Punkie Johnson Colin Jost Ego Nwodim Cecily Strong (final episode: December 17, 2022) Kenan Thompson Bowen Yang

Featured players Marcello Hernandez James Austin Johnson Molly Kearney Michael Longfellow Sarah Sherman Devon Walker

2023-2024 season

Main article: Saturday Night Live (season 49)

The forty-ninth season of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 14, 2023, with host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice.^[23]

Cast

On October 4, 2023, Chloe Troast was announced as a featured cast member.^[24] The rest of the cast from the previous season returned,^[23] with featured cast members James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who have been cast members since 2021, being promoted to repertory status, while Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, who all joined the previous season, remained as featured players.^[25]

Cast roster

Repertory players Michael Che Mikey Day Andrew Dismukes Chloe Fineman Heidi Gardner James Austin Johnson Punkie Johnson Colin Jost Ego Nwodim Sarah Sherman Kenan Thompson Bowen Yang

Featured players Marcello Hernandez Molly Kearney Michael Longfellow Chloe Troast Devon Walker

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

References

1. "Your final guests of season 46". May 3, 2021. from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
2. Wright, Megh (September 15, 2020). "The Entire SNL Cast Will Return for Season 46". Vulture.
3. "SNL Adds 3 New Cast Members Ahead of Season 46 Premiere". September 16, 2020.
4. Ausiello, Michael (September 16, 2020). "Saturday Night Live Tapes Jim Carrey to Join Season 46 as Joe Biden". TVLine. from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020. Michaels also confirmed that Alec Baldwin will be back as Trump, with Maya Rudolph set to once again play Biden's running mate Kamala Harris.
5. Maglio, Tony (September 16, 2020). "Jim Carrey to Play Joe Biden on Season 46 of 'SNL'; Show Adds 3 to Cast". The Wrap. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
6. Caruso, Nick (December 19, 2020). "Saturday Night Live: Jim Carrey Bows Out as President-Elect Joe Biden". TVLine. from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
7. "'SNL': Alex Moffat Replaces Jim Carrey as Joe Biden in Cold Open". The Hollywood Reporter. December 20, 2020. from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
8. "Cecily Strong's New Musical-Comedy Series Has a Stacked Cast". October 1, 2020. from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
9. "Hulu series 'Shrill' returns to film in Portland this fall, and extras are needed". September 25, 2020. from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the : "SNL Returns October 2". YouTube.
11. Tenreyo, Tatiana (September 27, 2021). "NBC announces who's leaving and joining SNL for its 47th season". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
12. Porter, Rick (September 27, 2021). "Beck Bennett Departs 'Saturday Night Live' After 8 Seasons". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
13. Andreeva, Nellie; White, Peter (May 20, 2022). "'SNL': Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant & Kyle Mooney To Exit Alongside Pete Davidson As Major Cast Shake-Up Set For Season Finale". Deadline. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
14. Schwartz, Ryan (September 1, 2022). "SNL: Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat Among 3 More Cast Members Out Ahead of Season 48". TVLine. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
15. White, Peter (September 19, 2022). "'SNL' Chris Redd Latest Cast Member To Exit". Retrieved September 19, 2022.
16. "Saturday Night Live Sets Season 48 Premiere". MSN. September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
17. "Listings | TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource". www.thefutoncritic.com.
18. "'Saturday Night Live' Shuts Down Due to Writers Strike". The Hollywood Reporter. May 2, 2023.
19. "'SNL': Lorne Michaels Addresses Season 48 Cast Changes, Reveals There Will Be At Least Four New Castmembers". September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
20. Porter, Rick (September 15, 2022). "'SNL' Adds Four Featured Players to Season 48 Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
21. "Fear not, Cecily Strong fans: She hasn't left 'SNL'". October 2, 2022.
22. Darwish, Meghan (October 27, 2022). "Cecily Strong Returns to 'Saturday Night Live' — See Her on Set of Season 48 (PHOTO)". TV Insider. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
23. Porter, Rick (October 4, 2023). "'Saturday Night Live' Sets Return Date at NBC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
24. Schwartz, Ryan (October 4, 2023). "Saturday Night Live Sets Return Date; Pete Davidson to Host Season 49 Premiere". TVLine. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
25. White, Peter; Grobar, Matt (October 4, 2023). "'SNL': Pete Davidson & Bad Bunny Among Hosts As NBC Show Sets Returns With SAG-AFTRA Blessing, Full Cast Comes Back For Season 49 & Chloe Troast Joins". Deadline. Retrieved October 4, 2023.