'Saturday Night Live' Season 46: Release date, cast, trailer and all you need to know about NBC's late night variety show
Saturdays are going to be exciting again from October onwards. After concluding it's 45th season with it's 'At Home Edition', the popular and one of the longest-running network television programs in the US -- 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL) is returning on October 3. Here's all you need to know.
Release date
The show is set to premiere on Saturday, October 3 on NBC.
Format
According to reports, the production will be back to studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. While it has been stated that it will be live, and they are planning to have a “limited in-studio audience”. They are working closely with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s team to ensure safety for everyone during the ongoing pandemic. NBC's Other NBC late-night productions have returned to the studio. NBC’s 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' was back at 30 Rock in mid-July, with no in-studio audience, fewer crew on set and celebrity interviews conducted virtually, as reported by Variety. Even 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' just began broadcasting from 30 Rock earlier in September.
On March 16, "SNL" had announced that it had suspended production, and on April 11, the show returned for a virtual episode titled 'Saturday Night Live At Home'. Tom Hanks hosted the virtual show. Hanks, who was wearing a suit, joked that it was the first time he had worn anything other than sweatpants in a month, as reported by CNN. There were two other virtual episodes, one that aired on April 25 with Brad Pitt doing the cold open and one that aired on May 9 with Alec Baldwin doing the cold open.
Cast
The good news is that the entire cast is returning for the new season. Earlier there were speculations that a few of the cast members might be leaving. There were rumors that popular cast member Kate McKinnon might leave to concentrate on her solo career and her role in Hulu limited series 'The Dropout', according to Deadline. But she is returning. As per the report, featured player Ego Nwodim was upped to a repertory player for this upcoming season.
So now the cast features Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim and Bowen Yang.
After Kamala Harris' nomination, social media was buzzing as fans were excited because that meant Maya Rudolph might be reprising her role as Kamala Harris. There's still no news if Alec Baldwin will resume his president Donald Trump impressions. Last season, in the finale episode, Baldwin ended his segment by bidding goodbye to everyone while adding that it would be "one last time" him signing off as Trump on the show.
However, there's more good news. Executive producer Lorne Michaels said in a new interview with Vulture that Baldwin will return and so will Rudolph. Another surprise that was announced that Jim Carrey will be joining SNL to play former Vice President Joe Biden. Three new cast members: comedians Lauren Holt, Punkie Johnson and Andrew Dismukes will join as featured players.
Trailer
'SNL' released a short video clip on Twitter featuring the stage, text that reads October 3, and a voiceover that says, 'Live from New York'.
Where to watch
'Saturday Night Live' season 46 will premiere on Saturday, October at 11:30 ET on NBC.
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