Pete Davidson
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Saturday Night Live will be live again in October.
The long-running NBC sketch comedy show begins its 49th season on October 14th. Former cast member Pete Davidson will host the premiere; He was supposed to make his hosting debut in May before the show went under during the writers’ strike.
Ice Spice will join Davidson as musical guest on the season premiere. On October 21st, Bad Bunny will serve as both host and musical guest.
The cast of SNL Season 48 will all be returning — no surprise given the short turnaround time following the end of the writers’ strike on September 27th. The show also added Chloe Troast as a lead actress; She stars in Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, written by and starring SNL writers and cast members Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall (collectively known as Please Don’t Destroy).
The return of Saturday Night Live will further round out the list of late-night shows on broadcast and cable networks that were canceled when the writers’ strike began in May. HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” were relaunched last week, and the network’s four daily late-night talkers — ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” by CBS and NBC Meyers’ “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night With Seth” all returned Monday.
The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA continues to strike over a new theater and television contract, but SNL cast members (and hosts) who are members of the union are allowed to work on the show because it is governed by a different contract, called the Network Code This also includes talk shows and unscripted productions.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA said the cast of SNL “is not violating SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules and we are supporting them in fulfilling their contractual obligations.” The program is a non-dramatic SAG-AFTRA production Under a separate agreement that is not subject to the union’s strike order.
“The majority of our Saturday Night Live regulars had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are subject to option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producers exercise their option, which the producers did.”
Noting that the current network code agreement contains a no-strike clause, the union also stated: “It is important to recognize that SAG-AFTRA is fighting against the studios, not against members who are required to go to work every day or under other union contracts. “ Personal service agreements. We stand with our union brothers and sisters across the industry as we also recognize our obligations under federal labor law.”
