The forty-ninth season of the NBC sketch comedy series '' Saturday Night Live'' premiered on October 14, 2023, during the 2023–24 television season, with host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice. The premiere was delayed due to the

2023 Writers Guild of America strike From May 2 to September 27, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). With a duration of 148 days, the ...

Cast

After the departures of eleven cast members between seasons 46 and 48, the entire cast from the previous season returned. James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who both joined as featured players prior to season 47, were promoted to repertory status, while

Marcello Hernandez Marcello Hernandez (born August 19, 1997) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Hernandez joined the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' as a featured player before the start of the show's 48th season i ...

Molly Kearney Molly Kearney (; born May 2) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Born and raised in Cleveland, they frequently performed stand-up comedy in Chicago, later moving to Los Angeles. In 2019, Kearney was one of the comedians selected for Co ...

Michael Longfellow Michael Longfellow (born January 31, 1994) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Longfellow was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' as a featured player for its 48th season in 2022, makin ...

and

Devon Walker DeVon Walker (born November 22, 1985) is a former indoor football defensive specialist who last played Kent Predators of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football at Nevada. High school career Walker attended Gahr High Scho ...

, all of whom joined the previous season, remained as featured players. On October 4, 2023, New York City-based comedian

Chloe Troast Chloe Eileen Troast (born May 14, 1997) is an American comedian and actress. In October 2023, after four years of performing improv and stand-up comedy in New York, Troast was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Ni ...

was announced as a new cast member. While not credited as cast members, the comedy group and SNL staff writers

Please Don't Destroy Please Don't Destroy is a comedy group in New York City consisting of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, who began collaborating as students at New York University. The group was originally founded in 2017 and based on an act titled ...

(Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall, and John Higgins) continue to appear in digital videos. In some episodes, starting with this season's premiere, they received the credit "A Film by Please Don't Destroy" in the opening montage, marking the first time since Robert Smigel's "

TV Funhouse ''Saturday TV Funhouse'' is a segment on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' featuring cartoons created by ''SNL'' writer Robert Smigel. 101 "TV Funhouse" segments aired on ''SNL'' between 1996 and 2008, with one further segment airing in 2011. It also ...

" cartoons that a recurring segment has its own credit in the opening.

Cast roster

Repertory players * Michael Che * Mikey Day *

Andrew Dismukes Andrew Vincent Dismukes (; born June 21, 1995) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. Dismukes was hired as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2017, ahead of its 43rd season. He was then hired to join the ...

* Chloe Fineman * Heidi Gardner * James Austin Johnson * Punkie Johnson * Colin Jost * Ego Nwodim * Sarah Sherman * Kenan Thompson * Bowen Yang Featured players *

bold denotes " Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

The entire writing staff from the previous season returned, with no changes.

Episodes

References

{{Saturday Night Live 49 Saturday Night Live in the 2020s 2023 American television seasons 2024 American television seasons