SNL will be live from New York again on October 4

Saturday Night Live returns, but the hosts, musical guests, and cast members remain a mystery.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  July 29, 2025 | 6:04pm
(Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
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SNL will be live from New York again on October 4
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Like Christmas, Halloween, and National Grateful Patient Day, the return of Saturday Night Live gets earlier every year. One minute, you’re lighting fireworks; the next, Chappell Roan stans are defending their Midwest Princess from the slings and arrows of Bowen Yang’s Moo Deng impression. The seasons, they go round and round, and so does SNL, which returns for season 51 on October 4, 2025.

However, NBC has not announced anything more about the season yet. We don’t know who is in the cast, who the hosts are, or who the musical guests are. Per Deadline, the show has begun looking for potential new cast members, but has yet to determine how many slots there will be, if any.

Anyone hoping for a changing of the guard might be disappointed, though. Lorne Michaels, who in 2001 told CBS that season 50 would be a “really good time to leave,” is expected to stick around. Last year, he told The Hollywood Reporter that there’s “no immediate plan” to leave. “As long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it,” he continued. The SNL succession plan is a war of attrition. One day, it will be Keenan’s. Oh, yes, it will be Keenan’s.

 
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