“Saturday Night Live” is set to return this fall with its first new live episode since the coronavirus pandemic started.
NBC said on Thursday that the long-running sketch comedy series would begin its 46th season on Oct. 3, but the network did not immediately announce a host or musical guest performer.
In March, “S.N.L.” had just aired a new live episode featuring the James Bond star Daniel Craig and was preparing for a new show to be hosted by the “Office” alumnus John Krasinski when the pandemic forced the suspension of the show’s production.
Even as other late-night comedy shows found ways to return to TV in reduced, remotely produced formats, “S.N.L.” seemed to have come to the abrupt end of its year.
Instead, “S.N.L.” closed out its 45th season with three biweekly broadcasts of comedy sketches that cast members had recorded from their homes. The show also paid tribute to its longtime music coordinator Hal Willner, who died in April from complications related to the coronavirus.
NBC said that the new “S.N.L.” episodes would originate from Studio 8H, the show’s longtime home in the network’s Rockefeller Center headquarters in Manhattan. The network did not immediately indicate how many consecutive new episodes the season would begin with, or how many episodes it would include over all.
In July, “Saturday Night Live” was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards, including best variety sketch series.
Source: Television - nytimes.com
