“Saturday Night Live” is returning for its 52nd season, and it will be a star-studded affair.
The sketch show announced that the season premiere, set to air on Sept. 26, will be hosted by Jalen Brunson, who recently led the New York Knicks to their first NBA Championship in 53 years, with music from popular K-pop group Katseye. Both Brunson and Katseye will be making their “SNL” debut.
The Oct. 3 episode will be headlined by Dakota Johnson and hardcore rock band Turnstile. Johnson, whose film “Verity” hits theaters on Oct. 2, returns to “SNL” for the third time, while Turnstile makes their “SNL” debut amid their Never Enough Tour Pt. 2.
Shane Gillis will host “SNL” for the third time on Oct. 10 with Rosalía as musical guest. Gillis broke the Guinness World Record for largest stand-up audience this summer and recently released Season 3 of his Netflix show “Tires,” while Rosalía will wrap up her Lux world tour the month before her second time at “SNL.”
Lastly — and perhaps most excitingly — this year’s Halloween episode will be hosted by Inde Navarette, the breakout star of the hit horror film “Obsession.” She will be joined on Oct. 31 by musical guest Gracie Abrams, who returns to “SNL” for the second time after releasing the album “Daughter From Hell” earlier this year.
Offseason news from “SNL” has been quiet, with the biggest update being that Chloe Fineman, who has been a player on the show since 2019, has departed after seven seasons. Martin Herlihy, who previously appeared on-screen for four seasons as a member of Please Don’t Destroy and worked in the writers room on Season 51, has also exited the show.
Across the pond, “Saturday Night Live UK” beat the American version in announcing its premiere date plan for its second season, setting Jeff Goldblum and CMAT as host and musical guest for its Sept. 12 premiere. The series is set to bring back its full cast from the first season, and will run for 12 episodes.
“SNL” Season 51 hosts included Will Ferrell, Bad Bunny, Matt Damon, Connor Storrie and many more, with musical guests that included Doja Cat, Sombr, Role Model and Cher. Some celebs did double duty as well, with Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo all serving as both host and musical guest.
Variety spoke with some of the Season 51 newcomers at the end of season and asked them what their goals were for their upcoming sophomore year.
“The senior people are so good at capturing their own voice in sketch, like Andrew [Dismukes] and James [Austin Johnson],” Jeremy Culhane said. “That’s something I’d be happy to get better at.”
“And working together,” Veronika Slowikowski added. “This year, we were all trying to get our own thing on, and rightfully so. Next year, I’d like to find characters together.”