The forty-eighth season of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' premiered on October 1, 2022, during the 2022–23 television season with host

Miles Teller Miles Teller (born February 20, 1987) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut with the independent drama '' Rabbit Hole'' (2010), and gained wider recognition for his roles in the coming-of-age film ''The Spectacular Now'' (2013) a ...

and musical guest

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, and concluded on April 15, 2023, with host

Ana de Armas Ana Celia de Armas Caso (; born 30 April 1988) is a Cuban and Spanish actress. She began her career in Cuba with a leading role in the romantic drama '' Una rosa de Francia'' (2006). At the age of 18, she moved to Madrid, Spain, and starred in ...

and musical guest

Karol G Carolina Giraldo Navarro (born February 14, 1991), known professionally as Karol G, is a Colombian singer. Considered as one of the most influential reggaeton and Urban contemporary music, urban pop artists, she has received awards including a ...

. The season was originally scheduled to air 21 episodes and conclude on May 20, 2023. However, 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 action, strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Lasting 148 days, ...

, the last three planned episodes were cancelled.

Cast

Eight cast members from season 47 left the show prior to the beginning of this season, making it the biggest cast exodus since

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. The departures of longtime cast members

Aidy Bryant Aidy Bryant (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, ...

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity im ...

, and

Kyle Mooney Kyle James Kozub Mooney (born September 4, 1984) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. Mooney was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2013 to 2022. In 2017, he co-wrote and starr ...

were announced at the time of the season 47 finale, and in September 2022, several weeks prior to the start of this season, the departures of

Alex Moffat Alexander Everett Moffat (; born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2016 to 2022. In 2023, he made his Broadway debut in '' The Cottage''. Early ...

Chris Redd Christopher Jerell Redd (born March 25, 1985) is an American comedian and actor. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Redd was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' ahead of the show's 43rd s ...

Melissa Villaseñor Melissa Anne Villaseñor ( ; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, musician, and illustrator. First garnering attention for her stand-up shows and impressions, Villaseñor found wider success when she was hired to join the cast ...

, and featured player

Aristotle Athari Aristotle Athari (born 1991), also known as Aristotle Athiras, is an American comedian and actor. Athari was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its 47th season between 2021 and 2022. Career After sta ...

were announced. In response to all these changes, executive producer

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

called this season a "transition year". Michaels also stated that the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

was the reason why all those cast members stayed on longer than usual, compared to previous casts, and that they would've left earlier had it not happened, saying most cast "had nowhere to go" during the pandemic. Bryant and McKinnon separately confirmed this was the case for themselves. A few years later (ahead of the show's 50th season), he also stated that the reason why he had been hiring so many stand-ups (over the course of seasons 46-48) is because many of their go-to improv clubs like

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques we ...

, Second City, and

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, ...

were shut down during the pandemic. Stating in part that "a whole generation" of improv comedians weren't auditioning, but stand-ups were. Returning cast member

Cecily Strong Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022. She is the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's histor ...

took a temporary leave of absence early in the season due to her commitments to perform in the Los Angeles revival of the one-woman stage play ''

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' (1985) is a one-woman stage show written by Jane Wagner. The original Broadway production starred Lily Tomlin, won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and was tur ...

,'' returning to ''SNL'' for the October 29, 2022, episode. Strong then departed several weeks later on December 17 after being on the show for eleven seasons since

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, making her the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's history. On September 12, 2022, Michaels announced that four new cast members would be joining the show: stand-up comedians

Marcello Hernández Marcello Andrés Hernández-Gonzáles (born August 19, 1997) is an American comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since the show's 48th season in 2022. Early life Hernández grew up in Mi ...

, Molly Kearney (the show's first

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

cast member),

Michael Longfellow Michael Longfellow (born January 31, 1994) is an American comedian and actor. He joined the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' as a featured player for its 48th season in 2022. Early life Longfellow was born and raised ...

, and Devon Walker.

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 Saturday Night Live (season 43), 43rd season. ...

and

Punkie Johnson Jessica Williams (born April 29, 1985), known professionally as Punkie Johnson, is an American comedian and actress based in New York City and began her career as a stand-up comedian at The Comedy Store in California. Johnson is best known for ...

, who were both hired as featured players for season 46, were promoted to repertory status this season, while

James Austin Johnson James Austin Johnson (born July 19, 1989), occasionally known by his initials, JAJ, is an American comedian and actor. He is a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'', which he joined as a featured player ...

and

Sarah Sherman Sarah Nicole Sherman (born March 7, 1993), also known professionally as Sarah Squirm, is an American comedian, actress, and screenwriter. Sherman is known for using surreal and body horror comedy. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch ...

, both of whom were hired for season 47, remained as featured players. This season saw the death of longtime production designer Eugene Lee, who died on February 6, 2023, and had worked on the show since the show's premiere on October 11, 1975, with the exception of seasons 6– 10 (1980–1985).

Cast roster

Repertory players *

Michael Che Michael Che Campbell (; born May 19, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Che is best known for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he has served as co-anchor on '' Weekend Update'' al ...

Mikey Day Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He was hired as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' before its 39th season in 2013. He was then promoted to on-air cast status and beca ...

Chloe Fineman Chloe Rose Fineman (born July 20, 1988) is an American actress and comedian. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' starting in its Saturday Night Live (season 45), 45th season in September 2019, and ...

Heidi Gardner Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since season 43 in 2017, when she debuted as a featured player. She was promo ...

Colin Jost Colin Kelly Jost (; born June 29, 1982) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. Jost has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2005, and co-anchor of '' Weekend Update'' since 2014. He also serv ...

Ego Nwodim Egobunma Kelechi Nwodim (; born March 10, 1988) is an American actress and comedian. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2018, beginning with the show's 44th season. Early life, family and ed ...

(final episode: December 17, 2022) *

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

Bowen Yang Bowen Yang (born November 6, 1990) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer. Yang was hired to join the writing staff of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in September 2018, ahead of its 44th season, and a year la ...

Featured players *

* Molly Kearney *

* Devon Walker bold denotes "

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

" anchor

Writers

Prior to the start of the season,

and

(who had been head writers since

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

), stepped down from their positions, though remained on the writing staff for the season. Writers Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O'Sullivan, Auguste White, and KC Shornima were all hired as new writers (with Shornima specifically writing for ''

''). Asha Ward joined the writing staff starting with the December 3, 2022 episode. Beginning with the February 4, 2023 episode, writers Gary Richardson (who joined the writing staff in

), Will Stephen (who joined the writing staff in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

), and

Celeste Yim Celeste Yim is a Korean-Canadian comedian and writer. Career Yim's career began in the mid-2010s, in indie stand-up shows in Toronto. They were named to the Bob Curry fellowship for The Second City and worked as a juror for the Toronto Sketch C ...

(who joined the writing staff in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

) were promoted to writing supervisors.

Episodes

Episodes canceled due to writers strike

The following episodes were publicly announced, but cancelled due to the

Notes

References

{{Saturday Night Live Cultural depictions of Joe Biden 47 Saturday Night Live in the 2020s 2022 American television seasons 2023 American television seasons