It List guide to 'SNL' Season 50: The new cast members, celebrity hosts and political impressions to expect this year

Kelsey Weekman

Every season of Saturday Night Live introduces the world to a slew of viral cultural moments, but the show is celebrating a huge milestone this year: its 50th season.

The live sketch-comedy show is entering the new season with a bang: A movie about its first episode, Saturday Night, will be in theaters in October. SNL will also be taking on a monumental presidential election in November. The first episode airs on NBC Sept. 28 at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Here’s what we know about SNL’s 50th season so far.

Emil Wakim holds a microphone during a stand-up comedy act.
Emil Wakim, an incoming SNL cast member, performs at the Stress Factory Comedy Club in New Brunswick, N.J., in 2021. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images) (Bobby Bank via Getty Images)

As always, a new season of SNL means a new crop of comedians. This year’s additions are Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline.

Padilla hails from the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings, which also gave us Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. She’s appeared on a few shows, like HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and NBC’s Night Court reboot.

Wakim is a stand-up comedian who was crowned the New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 2022. He has opened for Roy Wood Jr., Nikki Glaser, Hasan Minhaj and Neal Brennan.

Wickline is a TikTok sensation with nearly 1 million followers.

Returning main cast members include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang. Marcello Hernández, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, who were featured players last season, are moving up to the main cast.

Chloe Troast, Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney have all left the show.

Jean Smart on the red carpet at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Jean Smart, who just won an Emmy for her role in the comedy series Hacks, will host the first SNL episode of the season. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images) (Gilbert Flores via Getty Images)

SNL announced the host and musical guest lineup for its first five episodes of the season in one fell swoop:

  • Sept. 28: Jean Smart and Jelly Roll

  • Oct. 5: Nate Bargatze and Coldplay

  • Oct. 12: Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks

  • Oct. 19: Michael Keaton and Billie Eilish

  • Nov. 2: John Mulaney and Chappell Roan

We’ve long been obsessed with casting celebrities as public figures on SNL, and the buzz about who will play whom heading into the presidential election is only getting louder.

Maya Rudolph will definitely be portraying presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Though a number of people have played former President Donald Trump over the years, that job has gone to James Austin Johnson for the last four seasons, which will most likely continue.

Steve Martin, a fan favorite for the role of Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, told the Los Angeles Times he’s “not an impressionist.” Other possible contenders include John Goodman, Danny DeVito, Jim O’Heir and Jim Gaffigan.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will also likely be portrayed on the show — fans have suggested that Taran Killam, Zach Galifianakis or Shane Gillis give it a shot.

Cast member Chloe Fineman told Variety that this season might finally be her chance to try out her impression of former first lady Melania Trump. The jury’s still out on who should play second gentleman Doug Emhoff, but he jokingly suggested “Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth — you know, people who look exactly like me,” in an interview with Esquire.

The film Saturday Night, which will be in select theaters Sept. 27 before its wide release Oct. 11, follows the chaotic 90 minutes ahead of the 1975 premiere of the show. It’s not a product of SNL or its network but features an ensemble cast that portrays the writers, actors and producers who made it all come together that very first night.

Director Jason Reitman and casting director John Papsidera told the Hollywood Reporter how they filled those familiar roles with both famous faces and up-and-coming talent, from Dylan O’Brien to Gabriel LaBelle.

Lorne Michaels in black tie.
SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels. (Taylor Hill/WireImage) (Taylor Hill via Getty Images)

In 2020, showrunner Lorne Michaels suggested that he would step away from SNL after its milestone 50th season, but now he plans to stick around.

“I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it. There’s no immediate plan,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in September.

A three-hour special honoring the five decades of SNL will air Feb. 16, 2025.

Looking for more recommendations? Check out our guides to the best in fall entertainment.

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