Saturday Night Live returns for its 51st season this weekend, and the stakes feel higher than usual.
Since the show signed off in May, the late-night TV world has been turned upside down: Colbert canceled, Kimmel suspended, Trump firing warning shots at NBC.
Add to that a cast shakeup, a retooled writing staff, and a history-making return host, and we’ve got the makings of a premiere that could set the tone not only for the coming season, but for years to come.
Here are five storylines we’ll be watching as host Bad Bunny and musical guest Doja Cat headline this week’s season opener.
How Does SNL Address Late Night?
The late-night universe SNL has lampooned in the past looks completely different than it did at the end of Season 50. Colbert’s cancellation, Kimmel’s suspension, and President Trump’s not-so-subtle warning that Fallon and Meyers are next have raised questions about free speech and satire on network TV.
SNL has traditionally been protective of its comedy cousins—will the show take a stand, keep it subtle, or surprise with a cameo from one (or more) of late-night’s embattled hosts?
Which Woman Dominates the Premiere?
With Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim gone, the women’s side of SNL‘s 18-person cast has been slimmed down to just five.
Returning repertory players Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman are poised to grab the spotlight, but don’t sleep on sophomores Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline—or rookie Veronika Slowikowska.
Premiere nights often reveal who producers are betting on, and what happens this week could define the female comic voice of the season.
Rookie Watch
SNL is welcoming its biggest rookie class in years, with Veronika Slowikowska, Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, and Kam Patterson all joining the show as featured players.
Marshall brings insider experience from Please Don’t Destroy, while the others arrive with résumés ranging from stand-up to Dropout to Kill Tony.
Will the sketches lean younger, weirder, or sharper as these five newcomers stake their claim?
Who Will Fill the Pre-Tape Void?
Pre-taped sketches are SNL’s creative X-factor, but this year comes with a twist: Please Don’t Destroy, which spent five seasons pumping out branded shorts for the show, has splintered, with Ben Marshall joining the cast, John Higgins exiting, and Martin Herlihy sticking around in the writers’ room.
Last season saw new formats like Dan Bulla’s Midnight Matinee and Streeter Seidell & Mikey Day’s animated shorts. With PDD no longer driving the digital engine, who fills the gap? The answer could define SNL’s online footprint not just this year, but for seasons to come.
Badder Bunny
Bad Bunny is set to make SNL history this weekend as the first performer ever to headline back-to-back episodes, following his musical-guest turn in last season’s finale.
That night, he scored big laughs in a PDD short and a sketch with Marcello Hernández, redeeming his uneven hosting stint from Season 49.
Expectations are now sky-high: if he delivers again, Bunny could go down as one of SNL’s most bankable modern hosts. If not, the experiment might look like overkill.
Saturday Night Live’s Season 51 premiere airs Oct. 4 at 11:30pm ET / 8:30pm PT on NBC and Peacock. Join us at LateNigher.com immediately after for the Saturday Night Network’s live after show, where SNL experts and superfans weigh in on the night’s best and worst moments.
