Who Is in the ‘Saturday Night Live’ Cast in Season 49?
Saturday Night Live is officially back. Following a brief delay for the Writers Guild of America strike, the 49th season of the long-running NBC sketch comedy series will return on Oct. 14, 2023.
The season premiere will feature former cast member Pete Davidson returning to Studio 8H to assume hosting duties. The 29-year-old appeared in the cast for eight seasons as one of the youngest cast members ever—as well as the first to be born in the 1990s—before announcing his departure in 2022 at the end of the 47th season.
The second episode, which will air on Oct. 21, 2023, will have Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny picking up as both host and musical guest, but beyond that, additional hosts and musical guests have yet to be announced.
Who are the returning cast members on this season of Saturday Night Live?
Amid both the tandem WGA and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes, there weren’t many shakeups to the cast this season.
Returning repertory players include Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang; as well as “Weekend Update” co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost. This year, featured cast members James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman have also been promoted to repertory status.
Additional featured players likewise include returning cast Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.
Who are the new cast members on this season of Saturday Night Live?
There’s just one new freshman joining the class of 2023-24 at 30 Rockefeller Plaza this year. Actress and comedian Chloe Troast was recently announced as a featured cast member on Oct. 4. A graduate of New York University, Troast has made a name for herself performing improv, stand-up, and sketch comedy in New York City. She also participated in the 2023 Montreal comedy festival Just for Laughs, and was named one of its New Faces of Comedy.
According to Vulture, fans can expect Troast’s vibes as being: “Irreverent, high energy, big into playing weirdos, will probably pair really well with Sarah Sherman,” and to “expect a lot of musical-theater-inspired sketches.”
Troast is also set to appear in the upcoming romantic comedy film Sweethearts alongside Kiernan Shipka, which was produced by New Line Cinema for Max.
