Saturday Night Live season 49: everything we know about the sketch show

Saturday Night Live season 49: everything we know about the sketch show

As it has for nearly 50 years, Saturday Night Live season 49 is raring to make viewers laugh. Whether it be some timely political satire or sketches that are just plain nuts, SNL is a comedy staple that is responsible for launching the careers of many of the biggest names in entertainment.

It's been a while since we've seen an episode of SNL, as Saturday Night Live season 48 ended before its planned finale in the spring of 2023 because of the writers' strike. However, now that the writers' strike appears to be coming to a close, there's excitement that SNL could be back in the very near future.

When is that and who is going to be on the show? Find out what we know about Saturday Night Live right now directly below.

Saturday Night Live season 49 release date

There is no set premiere for Saturday Night Live season 49 at this time. However, reports from multiple outlets, including Variety, say the show could return sometime in October.

That's not for certain as right now there is only a tentative agreement on a new labor agreement between the Writers Guild of America and the studios, with the union needing to ratify the deal before officially giving its members the all clear to return to work. However, there is optimism that a deal will get the final stamp of approval in the near future.

When Saturday Night Live does return, it'll do so in its usual spot in the NBC TV schedule, airing live across the US at 11:30 pm ET/8:30 pm PT. In the meantime, reruns of SNL are airing in the 11:30 pm time slot.

Saturday Night Live season 49 cast

Michael Che and Devon Walker on Saturday Night Live

Michael Che and Devon Walker on Saturday Night Live (Image credit: Will Heath/NBC)

The history of the Saturday Night Live cast is filled with some of the biggest names in comedy: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gildna Radner, Molly Shannon, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader and more. So who is part of the current cast?

We're still waiting to hear who is part of the official Saturday Night Live season 49 cast. While conditions with the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, reportedly allows comedians to work on the show even as actors are still on strike for their own new deal, it's possible some may opt to sit out until that is settled, though that's to be determined. It's also possible that some of the cast members from last season will depart while some new ones will join the show. 

Until we get an official list of cast members for the new season, here's a reminder on who was part of the Saturday Night Live season 48 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)

Saturday Night Live season 49 hosts

With no premiere date, we don't have any indication of who might show up as a host for Saturday Night Live season 49. The last scheduled host was Pete Davidson, but his appearance was cancelled as it came right at the start of the writers' strike back in May 2023. 

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 Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV. Finally, if you're a Peacock Premium Plus 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. 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.

Today's best FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Peacock TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV deals