After mere weeks of planning and little more than days of rehearsal, the Season 50 cast ofSaturday Night Liveperformed together for the very first timeonSeptember 28, 2024.
How to Watch
Watch Saturday Night LiveSaturdays at 11:30/10:30c onNBC andPeacock,streaming next day on Peacock.
Starting strong with a premiere hosted by Jean Smart with Musical Guest Jelly Roll, the show has welcomed back a stronglineup of return Hostsand first-timers for 2024-2025's milestone 50th year (and an array of guest stars, includingMaya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, and Alec Baldwin). But even for a formerSNL writer andFive-Timers Clubmember like November 2 Host John Mulaney, it's their first performance withthiscast, and that's exciting.
RELATED:Watch Charli XCX's SNL Monologue and Sketches from November 16
In addition to much of the Season 49 cast returning, the premiere also introduced viewers to three new cast members: Featured Players Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline.
Season 50 has also brought new work from comedy trio Please Don't Destroy's Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy, and John Higgins (who contended with some office pigeons upon their return to 30 Rock this year), including a hilarious roast-off with November 16 Host Charli XCX.
So who's returned from last year?Check outSNL's Season 50 cast below.
RELATED:Why the First Saturday Night Live Cast Were Called The Not Ready for Prime Time Players
Jake Gyllenhaal as Billy Harper, James Austin Johnson, Marcello Hernández, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Andrew Dismukes, and Bowen Yang during the “Beautiful Girls” sketch on Saturday Night Live Episode 1864, May 18, 2024. Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Which SNL Season 49 cast members are back for SNL 50?
Season 49 cast membersJames Austin Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, and longest-running-cast-member Kenan Thompson have returned to Studio 8H.
Marcello Hernández, Devon Walker, and Michael Longfellow, who first joined the cast as Featured Players in Season 48, became Repertory Players in Season 50.
RELATED: Watch Ariana Grande's Monologue and Sketches from October 12, 2024
Who is in theSNL Season 50cast?
SNLSeason 50 Repertory Players
Michael Che
Michael Che during Weekend Update on Saturday, February 4, 2023. Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Michael Che hasco-anchoredSNL’s "Weekend Update" alongside Colin Jost since 2014. The stand-up comic and writer was also one of the show's head writers from 2017-2023 alongside Colin Jost.
An eight-time Emmy nominee for his work onSNL,Che was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He's a New York City native, raised in Manhattan.
When it comes to the cultural meaning of SNL50, Che told The Hollywood Reporter, "I try not to think about it in the macro — in season 51, we can look back at 50 and say what was special about it, but it’s impossible to determine what is going to be special. You can’t plan for a perfect moment."
RELATED: See Photos of Young John Belushi During HisSaturday Night LiveYears
Mikey Day
Mikey Day as Chase Wexler during the "Stunt Performers" sketch on Saturday, October 3, 2020. Photo: Kyle Dubiel/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Mikey Day joinedSNLas a writer during Season 39 before becoming a Featured Player in 2016. If you're a fan of the wildly popular "Haunted Elevator" sketch, otherwise known as the birth of Tom Hanks' David S. Pumpkins, you can thank Day (he co-wrote it with fellow skeleton Bobby Moynihan). Day's from Orange County, California.
RELATED:Seth Meyers Names the "Perfect Sketch" Mikey Day Co-Wrote for Nate Bargatze's SNL
Among Day's memorable Season 49 moments (and a victory for the show's hair department, who nabbed an Emmy for the episode): His team-up with Host Ryan Gosling for the viral "Beavis and Butt-Head" sketch.
Beavis and Butt-Head
Andrew Dismukes
Andrew Dismukes during the “Falling Down” sketch on Saturday, January 28, 2023. Photo: Jenni Pietromonaco/NBC
Stand-up comic and writer Dismukes joined as a Featured Player in 2020, after starting as a writerin 2017. Dismukes hails from Port Neches, Texas.
Forbidden Romance
Chloe Fineman
Chloe Fineman on Saturday Night Live. Photo: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
Chloe Fineman is a TV and movie actress who is also known as a master celebrity impressionist. Both on the show and on her Instagram, Fineman has showcased uncanny celebrity impersonations that include Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman, Timothée Chalamet, Anna Delvey, and more.
From Berkeley, California, Fineman joinedSNLin Season 45 in 2019.
Behind the Scenes with Chloe Fineman
Heidi Gardner
Heidi Gardner on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Photo: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Joining SNL in 2017 with seven seasons under her belt, Heidi Gardner is the longest-running female member of the current cast.
The actress and comedian isknown for original characters like Carla, the Famous '80s Cocaine Wife, Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend, and more she's showcased on "Weekend Update." A massive Chiefs fan, Gardner is from Kansas City, Missouri.
Mile High Burger Challenge
Marcello Hernández
Marcello Hernández during Weekend Update on Saturday, April 1, 2023 . Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Joining the cast as a Featured Player in Season 48,Hernández soon distinguished himself as a performer in sketches like "Spanish Class" during Host Ana de Armas' episode, and "Protective Mom" co-starring Emmy-nominated Host Pedro Pascal.
The stand-up comedian has also won praise for his writing on the show, particularly for co-writing Spanish-language sketches like "The Age of Discovery" with Season 49 Host Bad Bunnyand the recurring "Protective Mom" starring Pascal — which he's revealed was partly inspired by his own mother.Hernández is from Miami, Florida.
Weekend Update: The Couple You Can't Believe Are Together
James Austin Johnson
James Austin Johnson attends the 2023 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Like Chloe Fineman, James Austin Johnson had gained online fame for his incredible impressions prior to being cast onSNL —particularly, the uncannily-accurate take on Donald Trump that he brought to the show.
RELATED:Everyone Who Has Played Donald Trump on SNL
But the Nashville, Tennessee native's talent in sketches extends past his range of impersonations, which includes President Joe Biden (also portrayed by Mikey Day), Mitch McConnell, and late basketball broadcaster Bill Walton. Johnson has been part of theSNL cast since Season 47.
Trump and Biden Meeting Cold Open
Colin Jost
Colin Jost during "Weekend Update" in Studio 8H on Saturday Night Live on Saturday, October 14, 2017. Photo: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Staten Island's own Colin Jost started out as a writer forSNLin 2005, joining the cast in 2014 to co-host "Weekend Update." He isthe segment's longest-running anchor to date, breakingSeth Meyers' previous record.
While Jost is no longer a head writer, he takes an active role in writing for the show — prime example: Bowen Yang's cold open as former Congressman George Santos singing "Scandal in the Wind" from Season 49.
Michael Longfellow
Michael Longfellow at the Apollo Theater on April 27, 2023. Photo: Scott Gries/Peacock
Longfellow is a stand-up comic and writer who joined the cast in Season 48, and after his two-season tenure as a Featured Player he's become a Repertory Player. He was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.
Weekend Update: Michael Longfellow on Being a Child of Divorce During the Holidays
Ego Nwodim
Ego Nwodim at the "Cannes Lions" SNL Dinner and Party -- Pictured: Ego Nwodim. Photo: Fred Jagueneau/NBCUniversal
Actress and comedian Ego Nwodim joined the SNLcast in 2018. A seasoned improviser, Nwodim has also been a recurring guest on long-running podcastComedy Bang! Bang!since 2017.SNLwork that Nwodim's best known for includes herDionne Warwick impression and the character Lisa from Temecula, firstintroduced in Season 48.
In July 2024, Nwodim co-starred with Adam Pally and NBA player Steph Curry in the mock-documentary Peacock sitcomMr. Throwback.She is from Baltimore, Maryland.
Lisa from Temecula
Sarah Sherman
Sarah Sherman during Weekend Update on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Sarah Shermanjoined the cast in Season 47 and was promoted to Repertory Player status in Season 49.
Performing for live audiences as "Sarah Squirm," the actress and stand-up comic is known for her love of body horror that incorporates heavy makeup, effects, and even prostheses, both onstage and in SNLpretaped sketches like Season 49's "Battle of the Sexes" and "The Anomalous Man."
Sherman is from Long Island, New York.
Weekend Update: Sarah Sherman on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson on That's My Jam "Kenan Thompson & Big Boi vs. Kesha & Renee Elise Goldsberry" Episode. Photo: Vestal Ward/NBC
Kenan Thompson's comedy career dates back to his days as a child star: Millennial fans of sketch comedy have known him since his star-making run as a young star of Nickelodeon'sAll That.Decades later, Thompson continues to hold the title oflongest-runningSNL cast member of all time,with 21 years on the show.
Without Thompson, we wouldn't have the iconic game show sketches "Black Jeopardy" and "Family Feud," where he performs a spot-on impression of Steve Harvey. And who can forget the delightful chaos that is "What Up with That?"
RELATED: Every Host ofSaturday Night LiveSeason 50
Devon Walker
Devon Walker during Weekend Update on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Photo: Will Heath/NBC
First joining the cast in Season 48, Devon Walker is a stand-up comic who previously wrote for shows like Big Mouthand Freeform'sEverything's Trash. Walker's celebrity impressions onSNL include Draymond Green, Tim Scott, and Shannon Sharpe. Walker is from Austin, Texas.
Bowen Yang
Bowen Yang as Jace L. Rio during the “Park Red Carpet” Cold Open on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Joining the show as a staff writer in Season 44, Bowen Yang has been anSNL cast membersince 2019. In 2024, Yang was nominated forOutstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, his fourth Emmy nomination and his third in that category.
Yang's made hilarious contributions in sketches and on "Weekend Update," with impressions like George Santos and characters like Chinese trade ministerChen Biao. He also co-hosts the popular Las Culturistaspodcast with actor Matt Rogers.
Who are SNLSeason 50's new cast members?
Saturday Night Live's newest Featured Players are Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline. The show announced the new cast additions on September 9, 2024.
Ashley Padilla
Ashley Padilla for Saturday Night Live Season 50. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
Ashley Padilla, a San Francisco Bay Area Native, has been a member of the Groundlings Main Company since 2021.
I Got One
Emil Wakim
Emil Wakim for Saturday Night Live Season 50. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
Lebanese-American stand-up comedian, actor and writer Emil Walkim made his NBC late night debut onThe Tonight Showin April 2022.Wakim was also a New Face of Comedy at the 2022 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He was born in Chicago and raised in Bloomington, Indiana.
Weekend Update: Emil Wakim on Voting in the 2024 Election
Jane Wickline
Jane Wickline for Saturday Night Live Season 50. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
Like several cast members before her, Jane Wickline arrives at 30 Rock having already amassed a large following for her comedy online: She has almost 1 million TikTok followers.
She was a cast member on Tik Tok’s live show, “Stapleview,” and performs sketch comedy on tour. Wickline is from Los Angeles.