Saturday Night Live has been a TV institution for nearly 50 years, as NBC’s late-night sketch show is in its 47th season.
While shepherded by creator Lorne Michaels for all that time, SNL has featured a gigantic roster of comedic talents as both cast members, hosts and writers, all of which have contributed memorable characters and moments that have found permanent homes in the cultural landscape.
Whether you’re staying up late to watch it live or watching new and classic clips on YouTube, SNL is always good for a laugh, delivering plenty of them already throughout season 47. Here is everything we know about this season of Saturday Night Live.
Who is this week's Saturday Night Live host, musical guest?
This week's Saturday Night Live on May 21 is going to be the season 47 finale. Here is who is hosting.
May 21: Russian Doll star and co-creator Natasha Lyonne as host, her first time appearing on the show. In addition to Russian Doll, Lyonne is known for her roles in American Pie and Orange Is the New Black, and is starring in the upcoming Peaco*ck series, Poker Face.
Musical guest for the SNL season 47 finale is Japanese Breakfast. The Grammy-nominated band is making their SNL debut while they are currently on a North American tour for their album, Jubilee.
When is the Saturday Night Live finale?`
NBC has announced that Saturday Night Live season 47's finale is going to be on May 21 at 11:30 pm ET/8:30 pm PT.
Who is in the Saturday Night Live cast?
SNL has introduced viewers to some of their favorite comedians of all time: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, just to name a few. And the current cast of Saturday Night Live is filled with a bunch of fan favorites as well.
As SNL has reached the end of its 47th season, some rumors about cast exits have started to come up. Variety reports that Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney are "expected to leave" the show at the end of this season.
We'll keep this page updated as more cast news becomes available. In the meantime, here is the full list of the Saturday Night Live season 47 cast:
- Aristotle Athari (featured player)
- Aidy Bryant (repertory player)
- Michael Che (repertory player)
- Pete Davidson (repertory player)
- Mikey Day (repertory player)
- Andrew Dismukes (featured player)
- Chole Fineman (repertory player)
- Heidi Gardner (repertory player)
- James Austin Johnson (featured player)
- Punkie Johnson (featured player)
- Colin Jost (repertory player)
- Kate McKinnon (repertory player)
- Alex Moffat (repertory player)
- Kyle Mooney (repertory player)
- Ego Nwodim (repertory player)
- Chris Redd (repertory player)
- Sarah Sherman (featured player)
- Cecily Strong (repertory player)
- Kenan Thompson (repertory player)
- Melissa Villaseñor (repertory player)
- Bowen Yang (repertory player)
When does Saturday Night Live air
Saturday Night Live, unsurprisingly, airs on Saturday nights. One thing that the show started doing a couple of years ago, though, is living up to its name and airing live across all U.S. time zones. So, while SNL starts at its traditional time of 11:30 p.m. on the east coast, it is broadcast simultaneously in all other time zones — at 10:30 p.m. central, 9:30 p.m. mountain and 8:30 p.m. Pacific time zone.
Peaco*ck users will also be able to stream SNL live for the rest of the season, per NBC.
If you can't watch it live, SNL is also available to watch on-demand in its entirety the next day on either Peaco*ck or Hulu.
How to watch Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live has been an NBC staple on Saturday nights (go figure) at 11:30 pm for its entire run. While for many years the show would air at the 11:30 pm time slot in every U.S. time zone, but in 2017 the show decided to begin airing live across the country, meaning that it was available at 8:30 pm ET on the west coast.
No matter what time you’re watching it, SNL can be seen on your local NBC station. NBC is available on just about every platform that carries live TV, be it a traditional cable package; services like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Fubo TV or Sling TV; or even a TV antenna.
If you miss the live airing of the show, the most recent episodes will be available to stream on Hulu and NBCUniversal’s own streaming service, Peaco*ck, on Sunday. Peaco*ck also has 46 seasons available to stream. Clips from the most recent episode of SNL also find their way to YouTube the day after it airs.
In addition, Saturday Night Live does air across the pond in the U.K. Full episodes of SNL air on Sky Comedy. Fun note, according to Deadline, a British version of Saturday Night Live is in development at Sky, though apparently still in the early stages.
Get the What to Watch Newsletter
The latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more!
Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.
More about us shows
Latest
