Is ‘SNL’ New Tonight and Who’s Hosting?

The ever-iconic Saturday Night Live is still going strong at 49 seasons. Created by Lorne Michaels, the late-night sketch comedy show has been airing on NBC since 1975, with the inaugural episode hosted by stand-up legend George Carlin. The series has received a whopping 84 Emmy wins, the most out of any other television show in history, and has been hailed by many as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. The series is headlined by a supremely talented ensemble of comic performers, a host (often there to promote a new project), a musical guest, and numerous cameos.

Saturday Night Live has helped skyrocket the careers of some of the biggest names in film and television, including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald, Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon, and Pete Davidson; and that’s just to name a few. The sketch show has even branched out of television and has turned some of its fan-favorite sketches into feature films, such as Wayne’s World, The Blues Brothers, Coneheads, MacGruber, and most recently Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.

While the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes led to a delayed start, Season 49 has brought in some electric hosts, hilarious and instantly quotable sketches, and some good music as well. To find out more about this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, including who will be hosting and who the musical guest will be, here’s what we know about the next episode.

Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on April 20.

Will There Be a New Episode of ‘SNL’ Tonight?

No, there will not be a new episode of SNL tonight. Since its inception, Saturday Night Live has always aired live from New York on NBC, and that’s probably not ever going to change. Season 49, Episode 18 of the series will air on Saturday, May 4, at 11:30 pm EST/8:30 pm PST, both on NBC and streaming on Peacock. The new episode will also be available to stream on Peacock afterward, along with every other season of the show.

Watch on Peacock

Who Hosted ‘SNL’ Last Week?

Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling hosted last week’s episode. This was Gosling’s third time hosting the sketch show, after stints in 2015 and 2017.

Gosling is coming off his scene-stealing and Oscar-nominated role as Ken in Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie as well as a showstopping performance of “I’m Just Ken,” at the Academy Awards. Gosling has had quite a prolific career as an actor. Besides his role as Ken, Gosling also received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for his performances in Half Nelson and La La Land. He has starred in a wide range of movies, from dramas such as Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, and First Man, to comedies such as The Nice Guys and Crazy Stupid Love. Gosling has also ventured into acting in blockbuster movies, including Blade Runner 2049, The Gray Man, and Gangster Squad. Other notable movies Gosling has starred in include Drive, The Notebook, The Big Short, Lars and the Real Girl, and The Ides of March.

Gosling’s next movie will be David Leitch‘s action-comedy The Fall Guy, a reboot of the ’80s ABC series starring Lee Majors.

So far, the list of Season 49 hosts has included, former cast member Pete Davidson, R&B superstar Bad Bunny, stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, Wonka‘s Timothée Chalamet, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s Jason Momoa, Poor Things‘Emma Stone, Ferrari‘s Adam Driver, former cast member and Gosling’s Barbie co-star, Kate McKinnon, Saltburn‘s Jacob Elordi, Madame Web‘s Dakota Johnson, The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri, stand-up comedian Shane Gillis, Anyone but You‘s Sydney Sweeney, Dune: Part Two‘s Josh Brolin, Poor Things‘ Ramy Youssef, and former cast member and Palm Royale star Kristen Wiig.

Who Was ‘SNL’s Musical Guest Last Week Week?

Country music star Chris Stapleton was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last week. Much like Gosling, this marked Stapleton’s third appearance on the show, after serving as the musical guest in 2016 and 2018. Stapleton has become one of the most successful artists in the world of country music, having won 10 Grammy Awards. Throughout his career he has released five albums; Traveller in 2015, From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2 in 2017, Starting Over in 2020, and Higher in 2023.

Musical guests for Season 49 have included Ice Spice, Bad Bunny, Foo Fighters, Boygenius, Tate McRae, Noah Kahan, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Reneé Rapp, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, 21 Savage, Kacey Musgraves, Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, and Raye.

Watch the Best Moments From Last Week’s ‘SNL’

Who Is in the Current Cast of ‘SNL’?

As with any long-running television program, the cast of Saturday Night Live has radically changed through the years. Credited as “repertory players” for Season 49 are Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, and Weekend Update anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost. Credited as “featured players” are Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Chloe Troast, and Devon Walker. Staff writers Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall, and John Higgins, known as the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy, also appear in digital videos that appear in nearly every episode and often feature the host interacting with the three young comedians.

Who Is Hosting the Next Episode of ‘SNL’?

Dua Lipa will be doing double duty on the next episode of Saturday Night Live as both the host and the musical guest. While the Grammy-winner has been on the sketch show before as the musical guest, this will be her first time acting as the host as well. She’s far from the first person to serve as a double-duty host of SNL, Bad Bunny served as both the host and musical guest earlier this season. Other artists who have served double duty include Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Donald Glover, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Harry Styles, Nick Jonas, Jack Harlow, Megan Thee Stallion, and Billie Eilish.