As Jason Reitman’s film about the chaotic first episode of Saturday Night Live premieres this year, the show itself returns for its 50th season. There may likely be some meta-humor displayed to coincide with the release of the film, Saturday Night, as it celebrates its origins and is getting early positive buzz. In his review, our EIC, Chris Bumbray stated, “For a movie that’s so short, Saturday Night has a lot to unpack in it, as there’s just so much going on at every second. It’s a somewhat stressful movie to watch, but its frenzied energy makes it the perfect big-screen version of the show, and a movie I’m sure most SNL players, both past and present, will praise as being pretty accurate. It’s one of Reitman’s best movies.”
The NBC sketch comedy institution has recently announced its slate of hosts this season, per Variety. As Beetlejuice Beetlejuice becomes an early hit for the spooky season, Michael Keaton has been tapped to host the show for the fourth time. Keaton first hosted back in 1982 and would be back in 1992, presumably to promote Batman Returns. Then, Keaton’s resurgence in the past few years got to bring him back to host in 2015. This year, Keaton’s appearance capitalizes on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, while he also has a new film, Goodrich, which is set for release on October 18. Keaton’s musical guest will be Billie Eilish as she promotes her 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft.
Jean Smart is set to open the season on September 28 with musical guest Jelly Roll. Other hosts this year will include Ariana Grande, who will have Stevie Nicks as her musical guest. Comedian Nate Bargatze will be hosting the show amid his fall comedy tour, the “Be Funny Tour,” with Coldplay providing the musical segments. And John Mulaney is also set to return and host this November as his musical guest is Chappell Roan. This will be Mulaney’s sixth time hosting after serving as a writer on the show. He will be promoting his newly opening Broadway play, All In: Comedy About Love, which is due to start on December 11.