By Caitlin Hornik
Copyright independent
Hosts and musical artists have been announced for the first three episodes of Saturday Night Live Season 51.
Rapper Bad Bunny is set to host the October 4 season premiere, with Doja Cat scheduled to make her SNL debut as the musical guest. This marks the second time hosting for the “Tití Me Preguntó” singer, who has been the musical guest three times.
SNL alum Amy Poehler will make her return as the October 11 host, with Role Model as the musical guest. Poehler was a cast member from 2001-2008 and hosted the Weekend Update sketch in her later years on the show. The episode marks Role Model’s SNL debut.
Then, Sabrina Carpenter has been picked to both host and perform during the October 18 episode. While the episode would mark Carpenter’s SNL hosting debut, she appeared as the musical guest during the Season 49 finale.
The initial host and musical performer announcements come as the dust on the Season 51 cast shake-up continues to settle.
After boss Lorne Michaels promised to make some significant changes, several cast members exited the hit sketch comedy show amid the hiring of five new faces.
Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner are among the high-profile departures from the show.
Nwodim’s departure was voluntary, according to Deadline, and came after Michaels told everyone that the season 51 cast was complete. Gardner, the longest-tenured current female cast member during Season 50, became known for her strong presence on Weekend Update and characters such as Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend and teen movie critic Bailey Gismert. She has not yet publicly reacted to reports of her departure.
Along with Nwodim and Gardner, the other departures are Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow.
The five new cast arrivals include Ben Marshall, who was previously a part of sketch video troupe Please Don’t Destroy, and social media star Veronika Slowikowska. They are joined by Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane and Kam Patterson.
Addressing the cast changes at the Emmys, Michaels told Entertainment Tonight: “The show has always brought people in from different ages and different generations and it’s how it revives itself.
“It’s always hard when people leave, but there’s a time for that and our audience has always stayed relatively young, and more so now with TikTok.”
He added: “Change is good. The people we’re bringing in, I’m really excited about.”
SNL Season 51 premiere is set for October 4 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
