Is ‘SNL’ New Tonight?
Finally, the answer is yes, “Saturday Night Live” is new tonight. “SNL” Season 45 premieres Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.
The season premiere is hosted by Woody Harrelson. This will be the Oscar-nominated actor’s fourth time hosting “SNL.” He’ll be there to promote “Zombieland: Double Tap,” the comedic zombie sequel that comes a decade after the original. Harrelson will also appear in the star-studded World War II film “Midway” this November.
The 58-year-old will be joined by a slightly younger musical guest. The “SNL” premiere will be 17-year-old Billie Eilish’s first time on the show. The “Bad Guy” singer will perform two songs, and she’s promoting her Where Do We Go? Tour, which launches next year in the U.S. and Europe.
They’ll be joined by the “SNL” Season 45 cast, which includes some new faces. Bowen Yang, the NBC variety show’s first Asian-American cast member, and Chloe Fineman are both new to viewers. Shane Gillis was originally announced as joining the cast with them, but his racist and homophobic comments quickly got him fired before the season even started.
“We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days,” a “SNL” spokesperson said in a statement. “The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
Meanwhile, Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd, hired in 2017, have been promoted from featured players to full-time cast members. Ego Nwodim will remain a featured player alongside newcomers Yang and Fineman.
They’ll join the other returning “SNL” cast members for Season 45: Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson and Melissa Villaseñor.
Not returning this season is Leslie Jones. The actress asked to be released from her contract ahead of “Saturday Night Live” Season 45 to focus on other projects.
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