It’s a great day to be a Saturday Night Live fan, as NBC has officially opened the ticket lottery for Season 52.
Viewers can enter for a chance to score two free tickets to an SNL show taping at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Lottery winners are chosen at random, and requests for specific show dates are not honored.
Fans can enter the lottery by sending ticket requests to [email protected]. Submissions must include your full name, email address, and an explanation of why you want to be part of SNL’s studio audience. Only one request is allowed per household, and attendees must be 16 or older.
The lottery runs through 11:59 p.m. ET on August 31, 2026. Ticket requests received after the cutoff will not be considered.
As LateNighter has reported, the show’s 52nd season kicks off September 26—the earliest premiere for SNL since 2012, when Season 38 debuted on September 15.
Seven-season SNL veteran Chloe Fineman was the first cast member to announce her departure last month. The next few weeks could bring news of more cast exits, as SNL contracts typically expire on August 1, although the new season’s cast likely won’t be finalized until sometime after that.
August has historically been the month for in-studio auditions, as Lorne Michaels and his team scout for new cast members. That process has already begun, with show representatives spotted at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival last week.
The show added five new featured players last year, its largest group of preseason cast additions since Season 39 debuted with six newcomers in 2013. Two more performers joined that season’s cast later in the year.
Official announcements regarding the show’s cast—both returning and new—usually arrive in early September, followed by word of the season’s first hosts.
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