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Saturday Night Live season 49

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Saturday Night Live
Season 49
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 14, 2023 (2023-10-14) –
May 18, 2024 (2024-05-18)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 48
Next →
Season 50
List of episodes

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,[1] and concluded on May 18, 2024 with host Jake Gyllenhaal and musical guest Sabrina Carpenter.[2] The premiere was delayed due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[3]

Cast

After the departures of eleven cast members between seasons 46 and 48, the entire cast from the previous season returned.[1] James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who both joined as featured players prior to season 47, were promoted to repertory status, while Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, all of whom joined the previous season, remained as featured players.[4] On October 4, 2023, New York City-based comedian Chloe Troast was announced as a new cast member.[5]

While not credited as cast members, the comedy group and SNL staff writers Please Don't Destroy (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" cartoons that a recurring segment has its own credit in the opening.

On August 1, 2024, it was announced that cast member Punkie Johnson would be departing the series, after four years.[6] The next day, on August 2, fellow castmate and featured player Molly Kearney announced that they were leaving the show, after just two years.[7] Chloe Troast was let go after this season. [8]

Cast roster

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § Season 49 (2023–24)

The entire writing staff from the previous season returned, with no changes.[9]

However, after the Kate McKinnon-hosted episode, writer Ben Silva (who started writing for the show in 2021), left the show after 2½ years.[10]

Beginning with the next Jacob Elordi episode, former writer Steven Castillo (who previously wrote for the show from 2017 to 2021) rejoined the writing staff.[11]

This would be the final season for writers Alex English, Vannessa Jackson (who both joined the writing staff back in 2021), and Gary Richardson (who had been a writer on the show since 2017, with the exception of the 2021-22 season, and became writing supervisor, in the middle of the previous season).[12]

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		Host [13]Musical guest [13]Original air date [14]U.S. viewers
(millions) [15]
9491Pete DavidsonIce SpiceOctober 14, 2023 (2023-10-14)4.80[16]

9502Bad BunnyBad BunnyOctober 21, 2023 (2023-10-21)4.04

  • Bad Bunny performs "Un Preview" and "Monaco".
  • Pedro Pascal appears in the opening monologue, the "Protective Mom 2" sketch, and introduces Bad Bunny's second performance.
  • Fred Armisen appears in the pre-recorded "The Age of Discovery" sketch.
  • Mick Jagger appears in the "Telenovela" sketch and the "Convent Meeting" sketch.
  • Lady Gaga introduces Bad Bunny's first performance in Spanish.
9513Nate BargatzeFoo FightersOctober 28, 2023 (2023-10-28)4.85[17]

  • Foo Fighters perform "Rescued" and "The Glass" with H.E.R.. Additionally, Dave Grohl appears in the pre-recorded "Lake Beach" sketch and the "Airplane" sketch.
    • This episode marks the group's first televised appearance since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
    • Foo Fighters were initially scheduled to appear as a musical guest the previous season with host Jennifer Coolidge, but the appearance was cancelled due to the writers strike.
  • Beginning with this episode, Mikey Day takes over portraying President Joe Biden from James Austin Johnson.
  • Christopher Walken appears in the cold open and introduces Foo Fighters' first performance.
  • Padma Lakshmi appears in the "Chef Showdown" sketch.
  • Before the goodnights, a photo of actor Matthew Perry, who died hours before the episode aired, is shown in silence.
9524Timothée ChalametBoygeniusNovember 11, 2023 (2023-11-11)3.68

9535Jason MomoaTate McRaeNovember 18, 2023 (2023-11-18)N/A (<4.67)[18]

  • Tate McRae performs "Greedy" and "Grave".
  • During the goodnights, Colin Jost holds up a sign reading "We love you, Dana and Paula", referring to the death of Dana Carvey's son Dex earlier in the week.
9546Emma StoneNoah KahanDecember 2, 2023 (2023-12-02)3.89

9557Adam DriverOlivia RodrigoDecember 9, 2023 (2023-12-09)4.22

9568Kate McKinnonBillie EilishDecember 16, 2023 (2023-12-16)N/A (<4.67)[18]

9579Jacob ElordiReneé RappJanuary 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)4.34

95810Dakota JohnsonJustin TimberlakeJanuary 27, 2024 (2024-01-27)4.50

95911Ayo EdebiriJennifer LopezFebruary 3, 2024 (2024-02-03)4.57

96012Shane Gillis21 SavageFebruary 24, 2024 (2024-02-24)3.99[24]

  • 21 Savage performs "Redrum" and a medley of "Should've Wore a Bonnet" with Brent Faiyaz and "Prove It" with Summer Walker.
  • Gillis was originally announced to be a cast member for season 45 in September 2019; he was fired within days, following backlash that resulted when clips of him using racist and homophobic language surfaced, beginning with one of him using an anti-Asian slur on his podcast that went viral on Twitter.[23]
96113Sydney SweeneyKacey MusgravesMarch 2, 2024 (2024-03-02)4.03[25]

  • Kacey Musgraves performs "Deeper Well" and "Too Good to be True".
  • Glen Powell appears in the opening monologue and in the "Restaurant" sketch.
  • Gina Gershon appears in the pre-recorded "Bowen's Straight" sketch.
96214Josh BrolinAriana GrandeMarch 9, 2024 (2024-03-09)4.67[18]

96315Ramy YoussefTravis ScottMarch 30, 2024 (2024-03-30)3.89[28]

  • Travis Scott performs "My Eyes" and "Fe!n" with Playboi Carti, and appears in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy" film.
    • Both performances were excised from the episode's broadcast in the United Kingdom, but remain intact on streaming platforms.[27]
96416Kristen WiigRayeApril 6, 2024 (2024-04-06)4.58[29]

96517Ryan GoslingChris StapletonApril 13, 2024 (2024-04-13)4.70[33]

  • Chris Stapleton performs "White Horse" with his wife Morgane Stapleton and "Mountains of My Mind" and appears in the pre-recorded "Get That Boy Back" sketch.
  • Kate McKinnon appears in the cold open, reprising her character Colleen Rafferty, introduced alongside Gosling in a season 41 episode.
  • Emily Blunt appears in the opening monologue.
  • Caitlin Clark appears on Weekend Update.
  • Kyle Mooney appears in the cut-for-time "Papyrus 2" sketch.
  • Following seven days of catch-up viewing, this episode reached 7.51 million viewers (the highest linear audience since December 10, 2022); with additional viewing across digital platforms, this increased to 8.9 million (the largest cross-platform audience since December 11, 2021). This episode was also the show's "most watched ever" on Peacock.[30]
    • With seven days of cross-platform catch-up viewing, this episode scored a 2.0 demo rating, the highest in that metric since November 12, 2022.[31]
    • The episode also recorded the highest number of YouTube users who had "viewed a portion of the episode" since 2020 (46 million).[32]
96618Dua LipaDua LipaMay 4, 2024 (2024-05-04)4.74[34]

  • Dua Lipa performs "Illusion" and "Happy for You".
    • Both performances were excised from the episode's broadcast in the United Kingdom, but remain intact on streaming platforms.
  • Troye Sivan introduces Lipa's first performance.
  • Jerry Seinfeld appears on Weekend Update and introduces Lipa's second performance.
96719Maya RudolphVampire WeekendMay 11, 2024 (2024-05-11)4.25[35]

  • Vampire Weekend performs "Gen-X Cops" and "Capricorn", both with Ariel Rechtshaid.
    • Both performances were excised from the episode's broadcast in the United Kingdom, but remain intact on streaming platforms.
  • Most of the cast appeared alongside their mothers to start the show in lieu of a standard cold open, with the exception of Please Don't Destroy, who appear with actors playing their fathers.
96820Jake GyllenhaalSabrina CarpenterMay 18, 2024 (2024-05-18)4.21[36]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Saturday Night Live season 49
No. Title Air date Rating
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)		 Ref.
1 "Pete Davidson / Ice Spice" October 14, 2023 0.96 4.80 TBD TBD [15]
2 "Bad Bunny" October 21, 2023 0.74 4.04 TBD TBD [15]
3 "Nate Bargatze / Foo Fighters" October 28, 2023 0.78 4.85 TBD TBD [15]
4 "Timothée Chalamet / Boygenius" November 11, 2023 0.60 3.68 TBD TBD [15]
5 "Jason Momoa / Tate McRae" November 18, 2023 — — TBD TBD —
6 "Emma Stone / Noah Kahan" December 2, 2023 0.57 3.89 TBD n/a / 6.4[a] [15][37]
7 "Adam Driver / Olivia Rodrigo" December 9, 2023 0.70 4.22 TBD TBD [15]
8 "Kate McKinnon / Billie Eilish" December 16, 2023 — — TBD TBD —
9 "Jacob Elordi / Reneé Rapp" January 20, 2024 0.75 4.34 TBD TBD [15]
10 "Dakota Johnson / Justin Timberlake" January 27, 2024 0.74 4.50 TBD TBD [15]
11 "Ayo Edebiri / Jennifer Lopez" February 3, 2024 0.65 4.57 TBD TBD [15]
12 "Shane Gillis / 21 Savage" February 24, 2024 0.76 3.99 TBD TBD [15][24]
13 "Sydney Sweeney / Kacey Musgraves" March 2, 2024 0.64 4.025 TBD TBD [15][25]
14 "Josh Brolin / Ariana Grande" March 9, 2024 0.71 4.670 TBD TBD [15][18]
15 "Ramy Youssef / Travis Scott" March 30, 2024 0.61 3.892 TBD TBD [15][28]
16 "Kristen Wiig / Raye" April 6, 2024 0.82 4.575 TBD TBD [15][29]
17 "Ryan Gosling / Chris Stapleton" April 13, 2024 0.75 4.704 n/a / 2.0[a] 7.51 / 8.9[a] [15][33][30][31]
18 "Dua Lipa" May 4, 2024 0.77 4.741 TBD TBD [15][34]
19 "Maya Rudolph / Vampire Weekend" May 11, 2024 0.68 4.251 TBD TBD [15][35]
20 "Jake Gyllenhaal / Sabrina Carpenter" May 18, 2024 0.66 4.205 TBD TBD [15][36]
  1. ^ a b c Includes cross-platform viewing, such as on Peacock.

References

  1. ^ a b Porter, Rick (October 4, 2023). "'Saturday Night Live' Sets Return Date at NBC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (May 2, 2024). "Saturday Night Live: Maya Rudolph, Jake Gyllenhaal to Host Final Season 49 Episodes". TVLine. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. ^ Dixon, Marcus James (2023-10-04). "'Saturday Night Live' Season 49 cast for 'SNL' 2023–24: Who's in? Who's out?". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  4. ^ White, Peter; Grobar, Matt (October 4, 2023). "'SNL': Pete Davidson & Bad Bunny Among Hosts As NBC Show Sets Returns With SAG-AFTRA Blessing, Full Cast Comes Back For Season 49 & Chloe Troast Joins". Deadline. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (October 4, 2023). "Saturday Night Live Sets Return Date; Pete Davidson to Host Season 49 Premiere". TVLine. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  6. ^ https://deadline.com/2024/08/punkie-johnson-leaving-snl-1236028768/
  7. ^ Kearney, Molly (2024-08-02). "Yall that's a wrap on my time on SNL!". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2024-09-10). "'SNL' Adds Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim & Jane Wickline To Cast For Season 50, Promotes Trio As Chloe Troast Departs". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  9. ^ "Pete Davidson/Ice Spice". Saturday Night Live. Season 49. Episode 1. October 14, 2023. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  10. ^ "Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish". Saturday Night Live. Season 49. Episode 8. December 16, 2023. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  11. ^ "Jacob Elordi/Reneé Rapp". Saturday Night Live. Season 49. Episode 9. January 20, 2024. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  12. ^ https://www.vulture.com/article/snl-season-50-carl-tart-allie-levitan-moss-perricone.html
  13. ^ a b Porter, Rick (October 17, 2023). "'Saturday Night Live': All the Season 49 Hosts and Musical Guests". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  14. ^ "Saturday Night Live Episode Listings". The Futon Critic.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Saturday Night Live (SNL) Ratings on NBC". USTVDB. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  16. ^ "'Saturday Night Live' Returns To NBC With Promising Audience Growth For Season 49 Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. October 17, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  17. ^ "Nate Bargatze's 'SNL' Scored Highest Ratings Since Steve Martin and Martin Short's 2022 Episode". Yahoo!. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d Katz, A.J. (12 March 2024). "Josh Brolin SNL Delivers Largest Audience Since October". LateNighter. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  19. ^ Roe, Mike (December 10, 2023). "Cecily Strong Pulled From 'SNL' Cold Open Following Dress Rehearsal". The Wrap. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  20. ^ Kornick, Lindsay (December 11, 2023). "Cecily Strong reportedly pulled out of playing Stefanik in controversial 'SNL' skit, felt 'uncomfortable'". Fox News.
  21. ^ "Billie Eilish tributes women of 'SNL' during musical performance montage". Entertainment Weekly.
  22. ^ Caruso, Nick (January 22, 2024). "SNL's Pimp My Ride 'Revival' Features Original Host Xzibit — Watch Cut-for-Time Sketch". TVLine. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (February 5, 2024). "Shane Gillis was fired from 'SNL' for racist and homophobic jokes. Now he's going to host". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Katz, A.J. "Shane Gillis' Saturday Night Live Struggles in Total Viewers, But Thrives in P18-49 Demo". LateNighter. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  25. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (5 March 2024). "Sydney Sweeney-Hosted SNL Gains Total Viewers, Sheds P18-49 From Prior Week". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  26. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (18 March 2024). "Chase Bank to SNL: Thanks But No Thanks". LateNighter. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  27. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (1 April 2024). "Travis Scott Performances Cut From SNL's UK Broadcast". LateNighter. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  28. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (2 April 2024). "Ramy Youssef SNL Delivers Smallest Audience Since December". LateNighter. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  29. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (9 April 2024). "Kristen Wiig and Friends Deliver SNL's Largest P18-49 Audience Since Season Premiere". LateNighter. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (24 April 2024). "Ryan Gosling SNL Sees Huge Ratings Bump From Delayed, Cross-Platform Viewing". LateNighter. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  31. ^ a b Hailu, Salome (24 April 2024). "Ryan Gosling Brings 'SNL' Its Most-Watched Episode Ever on Peacock". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  32. ^ Maglio, Tony (24 April 2024). "Ryan Gosling — and Beavis and Butt-Head — Lift 'SNL' to Its Most-Watched Episode Since 2021". IndieWire. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  33. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (16 April 2024). "Ryan Gosling-Fronted SNL Delivers Largest Audience Since Oct. 2023". LateNighter. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  34. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (7 May 2024). "Dua Lipa-Led SNL Delivers Largest Audience in Several Months". LateNighter. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  35. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (14 May 2024). "Maya Rudolph-Led SNL Delivers Smallest Live-Plus-Same-Day Audience Since March". LateNighter. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  36. ^ a b Katz, A.J. (21 May 2024). "SNL Season 49 Finale Sheds Viewers". LateNighter. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  37. ^ Friedman, Roger (16 December 2023). ""Saturday Night Live" Ratings Booming Under New Formula, Scored Big with Oscar Winner Emma Stone, Singer Noah Kahan". Showbiz411. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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