Saturday Night Live season 51

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Saturday Night Live
Season 51
Release
Original network NBC & Peacock
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 50
List of episodes

The fifty-first season of the American sketch comedy late night television program Saturday Night Live will premiere on October 4, 2025 [1] on NBC and Peacock during the 2025–26 television season. This season will reach a milestone as it will air its 1,000th episode. [2]

Cast

On August 22, 2025, prior to the start of the season, creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels confirmed that changes to the cast were guaranteed and that announcements about any changes will be made in the following weeks. [3] In order to find new cast members, the first round of auditions took place during Independence Day weekend. The second round of auditions followed in August 2025, with the final cast confirmation anticipated in early to mid-September.[ citation needed ]

Beginning on August 25, a series of departures from the series were announced, starting with Devon Walker (who had been on the show for three seasons since 2022), [4] followed two days later by featured player Emil Wakim (who was let go after one season), [5] and the next day, Heidi Gardner (eight seasons since 2017) and Michael Longfellow (also three seasons since 2022). [6] [7]

On September 2, 2025, five new featured cast members were announced: stand-up comic Tommy Brennan, Upright Citizens Brigade performer and Dropout TV regular Jeremy Culhane, stand-up comic and Kill Tony podcast regular Kam Patterson, social media comedian and actress Veronika Slowikowska, and Ben Marshall, SNL staff writer and member of the comedy trio and former SNL collaborators, Please Don't Destroy. [8]

Michaels also confirmed that James Austin Johnson will return, noting that the show will be relying on Johnson's Donald Trump impersonation for the foreseeable future. [9]

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

On August 24, 2025, writer Celeste Yim announced, via Instagram, that they had left the show after five seasons. Yim joined the writing staff in 2020 and became the show's first openly trans, non-binary writer. They also became a writing supervisor in the second half of season 48. [10] The next day, Rosebud Baker, a writer since 2022 who was appointed as a Weekend Update writer the previous season, announced she also had left the show after nearly three seasons. [11] On September 2, 2025, it was announced that Please Don't Destroy member John Higgins, who had been a writer on SNL since 2021, would be leaving after four seasons. [12] On September 4, 2025, long-term writer Steven Castillo announced his departure. Castillo previously wrote for the show from 2017 to 2021, before returning midway through season 49 in 2024, and overall wrote for seven non-consecutive seasons. He stated that his second run at SNL was never meant to be long-term and that he just wanted to be a part of the 50th season. [13]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guestOriginal release date  [14] U.S. viewers
(millions)
9891TBATBAOctober 4, 2025 (2025-10-04)TBD

9902TBATBAOctober 11, 2025 (2025-10-11)TBD
9913TBATBAOctober 18, 2025 (2025-10-18)TBD
9924TBATBANovember 1, 2025 (2025-11-01)TBD
9935TBATBANovember 8, 2025 (2025-11-08)TBD
9946TBATBANovember 15, 2025 (2025-11-15)TBD
9957TBATBADecember 6, 2025 (2025-12-06)TBD
9968TBATBADecember 13, 2025 (2025-12-13)TBD
9979TBATBADecember 20, 2025 (2025-12-20)TBD

References

  1. ↑ White, Peter (July 28, 2025). "'SNL' Sets Return For Season 51 Premiere". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  2. ↑ Riccardo, Nick (May 30, 2025). "SNL to Hit Another Milestone in 2026: Its 1,000th Episode". LateNighter. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  3. ↑ Belloni, Matthew (August 22, 2025). "Lorne Michaels Speaks! Colbert, Trump, 'SNL50' Secrets, and the New Season". Puck . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  4. ↑ Nemetz, Dave (August 25, 2025). "SNL Cast Member Devon Walker Announces Exit After 3 Seasons: 'Sometimes It Was Toxic As Hell'". TVLine . Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ Swift, Andy (August 27, 2025). "Emil Wakim Not Returning to SNL for Season 51: 'It Was a Gut Punch of a Call to Get'". TVLine . Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  6. ↑ Nemetz, Dave (August 28, 2025). "SNL Cuts Another Cast Member: Michael Longfellow Out After 3 Seasons". TVLine . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ Shanfeld, Ethan (August 28, 2025). "Heidi Gardner Exits 'SNL' After Eight Seasons". Variety . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  8. ↑ Huamani, Kaitlyn (September 2, 2025). "'Saturday Night Live' announces new cast members for Season 51 after a series of departures". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  9. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (August 22, 2025). "Lorne Michaels confirms "SNL "cast members will leave before season 51, reveals 1 actor's return". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  10. ↑ Boykin-Patterson, Eboni (August 25, 2025). "SNL's First Ever Out Trans Writer Is Leaving the Show". The Daily Beast . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  11. ↑ Rosenzweig, Jed (August 25, 2025). "Writer Rosebud Baker Is Leaving Saturday Night Live". LateNighter. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  12. ↑ Shanfeld, Ethan; Hailu, Selome (September 2, 2025). "'SNL' Splits Up Please Don't Destroy: John Higgins Exits and Martin Herlihy Remains on Writing Staff as Ben Marshall Joins Cast". Variety . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/share/p/_14m0OaM5
  14. ↑ "Shows A-Z, saturday night live on nbc". August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
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