This fall, Saturday Night Live will return to the airwaves to commence its landmark 50th season, with the first episode premiering on Saturday, September 28. Already, information about big casting changes and rumored guest hosts is coming through, so here’s everything we know so far.
Who will host SNL in Season 50?
NBC has not yet announced the names of this season’s SNL guest hosts, but there are several big names that are rumored to be in the line-up for the show’s golden anniversary.
According to a tip shared by Deuxmoi, the premiere could be hosted by Glen Powell, who said he was previously invited to host in conjunction with the Top Gun: Maverick release before it was delayed and who previously cameoed in Sydney Sweeney’s episode. The alternative premiere host, according to this rumor submission, is Nikki Glazer, and actors Dylan O’Brien (who stars in Saturday Night as Dan Aykroyd), Natasha Lyonne, Kyle Mooney, and Simone Biles could also host this season. The report also claims that Eddie Murphy is in talks to host the holiday show with Taylor Swift as a musical guest.
Maya Rudolph will return to the series to reprise her impression of Kamala Harris, though it’s unclear if she’ll do so as host.
Who will be the musical guests of SNL season 50?
Nothing is official yet, but it is rumored that Taylor Swift is in talks for this year’s Christmas episode. (She concludes her Eras tour on December 8, so the timing would work.) Swift previously appeared on the show as a musical guest (with a sketch appearance as Annie) in January 2009 and went on to host that November. She also made a cameo in the show’s 40th-anniversary special in February 2015 and returned as the musical guest in October 2019 and November 2021, and she had a very brief cameo introducing Ice Spice as the musical guest of the night in October 2023.
SNL star Bowen Yang also reported joining the SNL talent team in trying to recruit Chappell Roan to join the musical roster for SNL 50.
Who will be in the main cast for SNL Season 50?
The Deuxmoi tipster claims Season 49 featured players Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, Chloe Troast, and Devon Walker will return and be promoted to regular cast members, while three new cast members — including one working with Second City — are being hired.
Two previous cast members who will officially not return for Season 50 are Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney, who each confirmed their departure on social media.
The other cast members who starred in Season 49’s repertory cast are Andrew Dismukes, Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Colin Jost, Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, James Austin Johnson, Michael Che, Mikey Day, and Sarah Sherman.
What else is there to know about SNL Season 50?
Creator Lorne Michaels has promised that SNL‘s 50th season will be a big one: “The 50th will be a big event. We’ll bring everyone back from all 50 years and hosts and all of that. It will be a very emotional and very strong thing. There won’t be as many plus-ones, I can tell you that much,” he told The New York Times. He also told Entertainment Weekly that he may retire after Season 50, saying, “I have a feeling that would be a really good time to leave.” He also suggested to The Hollywood Reporter that series alum Tina Fey could take over his role.
One way the show’s new season is bigger than the rest is that there’s a biopic film about the creation of the very first SNL episode hitting theaters on October 11, and there’s a 50th-anniversary special, which will be live and run three hours, airing on NBC on Sunday, February 16, 2025.
The first five episodes of Season 50 will air on September 28, October 5, October 12, October 19, and November 2.