Live from New York, it’s the Season 51 premiere of “Saturday Night Live”!
After a huge season celebrating 50 years, the iconic sketch series is back following a big cast shakeup this summer.
It was announced in late August that Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner would not be returning to the cast. Later, in September, Ego Nwodim announced that she was also departing the series.
The cast of featured players will feature four new faces in Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska, and one familiar face: Ben Marshall, a member of the Please Don’t Destroy comedy group who produced pre-taped segments for the past three seasons, was promoted to the featured cast as well.
‘SNL’ Season 51: what to know
Bad Bunny is set to host the season premiere. The rapper and actor is becoming a regular around 8H; he made his “SNL” debut as musical guest in 2021 before pulling double duty as host and musical guest during Season 49, popping up during the “SNL50” concert and anniversary special, and appearing as musical guest in the final episode of Season 50 in May.
Doja Cat will make her “Saturday Night Live” debut as the first musical guest of Season 51.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Season 51 premiere date
“Saturday Night Live” Season 51 premieres tonight, Oct. 4, at 11:30 p.m. ET.
How to watch ‘SNL’ for free
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream new episodes of “Saturday Night Live” for free. One option we love is DIRECTV, which comes with five days free and starts at $39.99/month, with plenty of subscription options and genre packs that include NBC.
You can also watch “SNL” for free with a Peacock Premium free trial (seven days, then $16.99/month). Peacock also has new “SNL” episodes available to stream in full on Sunday mornings.
‘SNL’ Season 51 cast
As noted above, five cast members exited “SNL” between seasons, but the cast also grew by five. Here’s who you can expect to see in sketches throughout the season.
Repertory players
- Michael Che (Weekend Update anchor)
- Mikey Day
- Andrew Dismukes
- Chloe Fineman
- Marcelo Hernández
- James Austin Johnson
- Colin Jost (Weekend Update anchor)
- Sarah Sherman
- Kenan Thompson
- Bowen Yang
Featured players
- Tommy Brennan
- Jeremy Culhane
- Ben Marshall
- Ashley Padilla
- Kam Patterson
- Veronika Slowikowska
- Jane Wickline
‘SNL’ Season 51 schedule
“SNL” often announces hosts and musical guests just a few weeks in advance of the episodes, but you can check out who has already been announced, plus the TV schedule for the first half of the season, below:
- Oct. 4: Bad Bunny, with Doja Cat
- Oct. 11: Amy Poehler, with Role Model
- Oct. 18: Sabrina Carpenter (double duty)
- Nov. 1
- Nov. 8
- Nov. 15
- Dec. 6
- Dec. 13
- Dec. 20
‘SNL’ Season 51 preview
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and New York Post’s streaming property, Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews
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