New Hosts and Cast Member Changes Announced for 39th SNL Season
Kelsey Scholl / ’17 Emertainment Monthly Staff
Lately, Saturday nights on NBC have been lacking comedy, but this fall, that will all change. Saturday Night Live is returning to television on September 28th. The show will be kicking off its thirty-ninth season with former cast member Tina Fey as the host for the premiere along with musical guest, Arcade Fire.
Fey performed as the “Weekend Update” anchor during episodes of SNL as well as many other sketches. Her career on the show lasted from 1997-2006, during which she also wrote and performed for other TV shows and movies, including one of the most famous, Mean Girls. Fey has returned to SNL several times since her departure as a guest performer and host. This will be the fourth time she has hosted the show.
SNL has been running since 1975. Created by Lorne Michaels, the show has been the highest rated late night since 1977, surpassing the ratings of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It has featured many popular comedians such as Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Steve Martin and many more.
Fey is not the only familiar face we will be seeing this season. Many cast members such as Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Kenan Thompson and Seth Meyers will be returning this season along with many others. Although Meyers, the “Weekend Update” host will be leaving mid-season to fill his new job on “Late Night.” he is just one of the few to leave SNL this season. Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis have also left the show. To fill their spots, four new cast members have been hired: Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney and Noël Wells. In addition, Michael Patrick O’Brien, a writer for the show is now joining the cast this fall.
With the release of the premiere’s host, SNL also released two upcoming hosts for this season. Miley Cyrus will host the show and perform as the musical guest during the October 5th show. Cyrus has been recently cited for her controversial performance of her song “We Can’t Stop” at MTV’s Video Music Awards and for her nude appearances in the music video of her new song “Wrecking Ball.” Bruce Willis will be hosting the show on October 12th with musical guest Katy Perry.
The thirty-ninth season of SNL will premiere on Saturday, September 28 on NBC at 11:30pm EST.