Finally and slowly, television is back! After the Writers Guild of America (WGA) struck a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the beloved television comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live" will be returning on air.
Comedian Pete Davidson is opening the show after nearly five months since it dimmed its lights in support of the Writer's Strike on Hollywood. Rapper Ice Spice, who has since dominated the internet for the past year is making her SNL debut as its musical guest.
Saturday Night Live With Pete Davidson, Ice Spice, Bad Bunny
According to USA Today, Pete Davidson will serve as the show's host on its historic return to the airwaves on Oct. 14, 2023, with Ice Spice as its musical guest. Bad Bunny be the host and musical guest on Oct. 21, 2023, the week after.
Reportedly, the cast of Season 48 will return, along with a new player, Chloe Troast. The SNL Season 48 Cast is composed of Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang, and Kenan Thompson.
Notably, it would be the first "Saturday Night Live" production since the Writers' Strike and the Actors' Strike took place.
The WGA and AMPTP reached a tentative agreement last week and are finalizing their contracts. Late Night television will be returning, including "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," among many others.
The Writers Strike was lifted on Sept. 24, 2023.
Won't "SNL" Cast Be In Violation Of SAG-AFTRA Strike?
Many are wondering whether the "SNL" cast would be violating SAG-AFTRA strike rules given that the guild hasn't yet lifted the strike and they would return to work.
Apparently, they won't be in violation. According to a statement from the Screen Actors Guild, "members appearing on Saturday Night Live either as hosts, guests or cast members are working under the Network Code agreement, which is not a contract we are striking."
This meant that if these SNL cast members returned to television for the upcoming show, they would not be in violation of the SAG-AFTRA strike rules, as guild members support them in "fulfilling their contractual obligations. (via The Wrap)
"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 explained. "The majority of our members who are regular cast on Saturday Night Live had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producers exercise their option which the producers have done."
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