Live from New York, Saturday Night Live is back for season 48. The long-running sketch show has served as a launching pad for some of the biggest comedians over the last 50 years and has delivered countless hilarious moments that range from political satire to the fantastically weird.
Lorne Michaels founded SNL and remains at the helm (with it widely believed he intends to do so through the show’s 50th season), but there are some changes as a few cast members have left and new ones have arrived. Plus, as always, there is a new weekly rotation of celebrity hosts, musical acts and surprise guests.
Without further ado, let’s dive into everything we know about Saturday Night Live season 48.
When is the next Saturday Night Live season 48 episode?
Saturday Night Live was going to return with a new episode on May 6 with host Pete Davidson, but that episode has been cancelled by NBC as a result of the writers strike currently taking place.
SNL will air repeats "until further notice" NBC said in a press release.
Who is hosting Saturday Night Live?
Pete Davidson was set to return to host Saturday Night Live for the first time since he left the sketch show in 2022, but since the May 6 episode has been cancelled it is unclear when (or if) he will make up the hosting gig.
Who is in the Saturday Night Live season 48 cast?
The season 48 cast of Saturday Night Live is a mix of long-time favorites like Kenan Thompsons, a few who are poised for breakout seasons (Andrew Dismukes, Sarah Sherman perhaps?) and some brand new faces as well. Here is the full cast:
- Michael Che (repertory player)
- Mikey Day (repertory player)
- Andrew Dismukes (featured player)
- Chole Fineman (repertory player)
- Heidi Gardner (repertory player)
- Marcello Hernandez (new cast member)
- James Austin Johnson (featured player)
- Punkie Johnson (featured player)
- Colin Jost (repertory player)
- Molly Kearney (new cast member)
- Michael Longfellow (new cast member)
- Ego Nwodim (repertory player)
- Sarah Sherman (featured player)
- Kenan Thompson (repertory player)
- Devon Walker (new cast member)
- Bowen Yang (repertory player)
Let's learn a little bit more about some of the new SNL cast members:
- Marcello Hernandez: Hernandez is a comedian, writer and actor of Cuban/Dominican descent. He was selected as a Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy in 2022.
- Molly Kearney: Kearney (they/them) was selected for Comedy Central's "Up Next" Showcase in 2019. They can be seen in Prime Video's A League of Their Own and Disney Plus' The Mighty Ducks.
- Michael Longfellow: Longfellow has been featured on Netflix's "Introducing..." showcase and NBC's Bring the Funny. He was also selected as one of TBS's "Comics to Watch" for the 2017 New York Comedy Festival.
- Devon Walker: Walker was selected for Comedy Central's "Up Next" showcase in 2017. He has written for Freeform's Everything's Trash and Netflix's Big Mouth.
The SNL season also saw a long-time cast member leave mid-season, with Cecily Strong taking part in her last show on December 17. Here are some of the wonderful final moments from Strong's final show:
When does Saturday Night Live air?
Granted that it is in the name, Saturday Night Live airs on Saturday nights. It also lives up to the last part of its name, as the show airs live across the US at 11:30 pm ET and 8:30 pm PT.
How to watch Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC, so anyone with a traditional cable subscription or TV antenna can tune in to their local NBC station to watch the show when it is live. A number of live TV streaming services also carry NBC, including FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV. Finally, if you’re a Peacock Premium subscriber, you can stream SNL live on the service during.
Want to catch up with SNL on-demand? The latest episodes are going to be exclusively available to stream the next day on Peacock, as NBC has ended its streaming deal with Hulu. However, clips from all new episodes are also shared on YouTube and if you have a service that carries NBC and has DVR capabilities, you can always record the show as well.
Or, if you just want the cliff notes, you can check out our updating list of best Saturday Night Live season 48 sketches.
All 47 seasons of Saturday Night Live are available to stream on Peacock.
