Pete Davidson, Ice Spice and Bad Bunny will help usher in the latest season of “Saturday Night Live,” weeks after the writers’ strike ended in late September.
NBC announced Wednesday that “SNL” Season 49 will premiere on Oct. 14, with Davidson returning to host for the second time this year. Ice Spice, best known for “In Ha Mood” and “Princess Diana,” will be his musical guest as she makes her Studio 8H debut.
The following week on Oct. 21, Bad Bunny will return to “SNL,” pulling double duty as the show’s host and musical guest. It will be the Latin pop star’s first time hosting the sketch series and his second time performing. He made his “SNL” debut in February 2021.
The network also revealed Wednesday that the “entire cast from last season” will return for Season 49. Returning stars will include Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim and Chloe Fineman. This season comedian Chloe Troast joins the cast as a featured player.
On Sept. 24, the Writers Guild of America and major Hollywood studios struck a tentative deal that would end the strike, after months of tension and uncertainty. Actors are still on strike, but SAG-AFTRA voiced support on Wednesday for guild members who are part of the “SNL” cast.
“They are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement shared with The Times. “The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not subject to the union’s strike order.”
The statement also said that a number of “SNL” cast members had “contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike.”
“By not showing up to work, our performers can be held in breach of contract and the Union is prohibited from advising them not to work,” SAG-AFTRA’s statement added.
Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
