“Saturday Night Live” has announced its first two hosts to usher in 2025.
Season 50 of the sketch comedy show will return Jan. 18 with an episode led by Dave Chappelle, marking his fourth time as host, with musical guest GloRilla.
Then, Timothรฉe Chalamet will serve double duty as both host and musical guest for the Jan. 25 episode. Chalamet acts and sings as Bob Dylan in the film “A Complete Unknown,” which hit theaters on Dec. 25.
The legendary sketch comedy show’s 50th season premiered Sept. 28, 2024, with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll.
The show has continued to feature more A-lists hosts and musicians during its landmark season, including:
- Oct. 5: Nate Bargatze, with musical guest Coldplay
- Oct. 12: Ariana Grande, with musical guest Stevie Nicks
- Oct. 19: Michael Keaton, with musical guest Billie Eilish
- Nov. 2: John Mulaney, with musical guest Chappell Roan
- Nov. 9: Bill Burr, with musical guest Mk.gee
- Nov. 16: Charli XCX, who both hosted and performed as musical guest.
- Dec. 7: Paul Mescal, with musical guest Shaboozey
- Dec. 14: Chris Rock, with musical guest Gracie Abrams
- Dec. 21: Martin Short, with musical guest Hozier
In an unofficial “SNL” tradition, Season 50 ushered in several cast changes for the show, which debuted on Oct. 11, 1975.
Former “SNL” cast member Maya Rudolphย revived her zany Vice President Kamala Harrisย impression to coincide with the 2024 presidential election.
Rudolph, a cast member from 2000 to 2007, also hosted the showโs Motherโs Day episode last season.
Three of the showโs cast members โ Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney and Chloe Troast โ announced their exits from the show prior to the season’s start.
Meanwhile, โSNLโ also added three new featured cast members for its milestone season: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline.
Who are the new cast members?
The show’s new cast members in Season 50 are Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline.
Padilla, from the San Francisco Bay Area, has been a member of the famed Groundlings Main Company improv and sketch comedy troupe since 2021, according to an “SNL” press release.
Wakim, a Lebanese-American stand-up comedian, actor and writer, was selected as a New Face of Comedy at the 2022 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Heโs also performed on โThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.โ
Wickline, who lives in Los Angeles, was a cast member on TikTokโs live show โStapleview,โ and performs sketch comedy on tour.
Which cast members didn’t return for Season 50?
Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney and Chloe Troast all announced their exits from โSNLโ prior to the start of Season 50.
Johnson, who had been a cast member for four seasons, announced during a stand-up comedy performance in Brooklyn in July that she would not be returning to โSNL.โ
A day later, Kearney, the showโs first nonbinary cast member who joined the cast in 2022, announced their exit on Instagram.
Earlier this month, Troast, who joined the show last year, announced on Instagram that she โwas not asked backโ for Season 50.
Will there be a special 50th anniversary celebration for ‘SNL’?
“SNL” will officially celebrate its 50th anniversary with a live primetime special on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.
In February 2015, “SNL” celebrated its 40th anniversary in a blowout primetime special featuring some of the show’s most beloved cast members over the years, including Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Bill Hader, Molly Shannon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Dan Aykroyd, Kate McKinnon, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Norm Macdonald, Kenan Thompson, Jimmy Fallon and dozens more.
Cast member Mikey Day revealed during a June 2023 visit to TODAY that Lorne Michaels, the show’s creator and producer, had already begun planning for the show’s 50th anniversary celebration.
โItโs going to be insane,โ said Day. โI havenโt heard that much. I know Lorneโs slowly putting it together.โ
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