Is 'SNL' On Tonight? NBC's Jan. 21 Schedule

"Saturday Night Live" is indeed live tonight after more than a month on hiatus. An all-new episode will air on Jan. 21, featuring a first-time host and talented musical guest.

Aubrey Plaza will make her hosting debut on the NBC variety show. Viewers may recognize the actress from "The White Lotus" Season 2. Plaza received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role as Harper Spiller in the HBO series.

Tonight's "SNL" will also feature musical guest Sam Smith. The singer's fourth album, "Gloria," is expected to be released on Jan. 27, followed by a tour later this year.

Although it's Plaza's first time hosting the show, she is no stranger to Studio H. During an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Plaza revealed she auditioned for "Saturday Night Live" but failed to make it to the final round.

"I didn't make it to the Lorne [Michaels] audition, the famous final audition, but I did a preliminary first-round showcase," Plaza told Fallon.

Plaza said she tried to impress the casting team with two original characters.
"I remember one character I did was like a Puerto Rican news reporter that was always trying to make all of the news stories sexy, even if they were horrific news stories. I was just trying to like, sex up the news or something," she explained.

Plaza described the other character as "a pill-popping housewife that had a show called 'Celebri-Tails,' where I would just name celebrities and name what kind of tail they would have if they had a tail. Like I would say, 'Lindsay Lohan would have a bushy squirrel's tail.' Or, like, 'Bill Clinton would have a polar bear's nub.'"

Even though she didn't land a spot on the "SNL" cast, Plaza became an intern from 2004 to 2005 in the show's design department.

However, she spent most of her time outside the design department "stalking" and "lurking in the shadows" watching the talent.

Almost two decades later, Plaza will host the NBC comedy sketch. Some of her comedic talents were displayed Wednesday in a promo video alongside "Saturday Night Live" cast member Chloe Fineman.

However, fans will have to wait a little while longer before Plaza appears in new skits on the late-night show.

"SNL" airs tonight at 11:30 p.m. EST on NBC.