Getty Former SNL alum Chris Rock will be hosting the Season 46 premiere of "Saturday Night Live," which airs Saturday, October 3 at 11:30 p.m. ET.
The Season 46 premiere of Saturday Night Live airs Saturday, October 3 at 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT on NBC. For the first time in six years, Chris Rock will host the SNL premiere. He will be joined by musical guest performer Megan Thee Stallion, while Jim Carrey will also make his debut as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The description for the Season 46 premiere reads, “Live from New York, celebrity hosts join an ensemble cast to perform comedy on Saturday nights. Capturing the pop-culture zeitgeist, sketches and segments include satirical news and digital shorts and often go viral the very next day. From Executive Producer Lorne Michaels, SNL is a lauded American late-night institution and continues to earn critical praise and dozens of award nominations season-to-season.”
We’ve got details on the Season 46 premiere below, including a closer look at tonight’s SNL host, a sneak peak at the opening sketch, and a list of upcoming hosts and guest stars.
Chris Rock Starred on Saturday Night Live From 1990-1993 & Hosted the Show Twice Before
October. 3.
Rock was an SNL cast member from 1990-1993. This will be the iconic comedian’s third time hosting the sketch show – he hosted twice before in 1996 and 2014 respectively – and Megan Thee Stallion’s first guest appearance. NBC announced their roles on Twitter in September with a graphic featuring three sticky notes that read, “OCT 3,” “Chris Rock,” and “Megan Thee Stallion.”
Ahead of his return to SNL, Rock spent the last few weeks promoting the fourth season of FX’s hit crime anthology Fargo. Rock portrays complex newcomer Loy Cannon, the head of a crime syndicate made up of black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow South. The new season premiered on September 27 and features Rock extensively throughout the fourth installment.
Meanwhile, rapper Megan Thee Stallion will make her first-ever SNL musical guest debut. Her latest album, Suga, has garnered over 900 million streams since its release, and features last summer’s smash hit single, “Savage.”
Rock & Megan The Stallion Will Be Sporting Face Masks While Filming
According to the New York Post, the entire SNL cast will return for the new season, which will adapt to strict COVID-19 guidelines. The show will be filmed live in Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center in front of a limited, in-person audience due to the continuous spread of the coronavirus across the nation.
Based on teasers of the premiere, fans can expect plenty of coronavirus jokes and references throughout the new season. In the clip above, Rock and Megan Thee Stallion both sport face masks as they make their Season 46 introductions.
“Hi, I’m Chris Rock and I’m hosting the season premiere of SNL this week with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion.” The rapper then jokingly asks Rock if he can read her lips beneath her COVID mask and Rock answers, “Yes I can and we can’t say that on TV.”
Another clip shows Rock introducing himself once more while Megan Thee Stallion is off camera, and when he asks his musical guest if she is worried about the virus, she hops into view sporting a full hazmat suit. “The show is going to be great, we aren’t even worried, right Megan?” Rock asks the rapper, who replies “Nope.”
Jim Carrey Stars as Presidential Nominee Joe Biden & Maya Rudolph Portrays Kamala Harris
Season 46 will see Jim Carrey will take on the role of former Vice President Joe Biden alongside SNL veteran Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris. Alec Baldwin is also expected to reprise his iconic role as President Donald Trump this season. The new season is set to air just four days after the 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Biden, so viewers can expect plenty of satirical digs at both presidential candidates during the Season 46 opener. You can check out the teaser above.
Following its return on October 3, SNL will continue airing new episodes every Saturday night for the next five consecutive weeks. The next new episode of SNL airs Saturday, October 10 at 11:30 p.m. ET, followed by new episodes on October 17, October 24, and October 31 this month. Bill Burr will host the October 10 episode alongside country music star Morgan Wallen, while Issa Rae and Justin Bieber will be take over on October 17.
SNL airs Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. In the meantime, you can keep up with all the latest in TV coverage and entertainment news here.
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