Why Pete Davidson And The Cast Of SNL Are Able To Film Premiere Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike

It's time to go back to Studio 8H, because Saturday Night Live is officially returning! NBC announced that the long-running sketch comedy series will be on the 2023 TV schedule with a premiere date of October 14. Pete Davidson will be hosting the first episode back since the WGA Writers’ strike began, and the full cast will be part of the show. This was a bit confusing at first because, while the writers came to a deal with the AMPTP, the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing. However, the NBC comedy series has gotten the blessing of the actor's union to resume production.

SAG-AFTRA has given SNL the green light to kick off  Season 49 in October, per Deadline. As the actors union is actively negotiating with studios for a new and fair contract, it's allowing the variety show to come back like other late-night shows have, including NBC's The Tonight Show and Late Night.

The actors' union released a statement to the publication about SNL going live soon, and why they're allowed to do so, explaining:

Shows under SAG-AFTRA’s Network Code have either been working through the strike, with it being allowed, they have recently returned to the air, or they are planning to return soon. After being home for months, SNL alum Seth Meyers returned to Late Night with a funny story regarding how his kids felt about him not being at work all the time. Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver also all returned to their respective late-night timeslots not long after the WGA Strike ended.

You might remember that back in April, SNL was one of the first series to shut down, along with the late-night talk shows, because of the writers' strikes. Pete Davidson was set to lead the episode and join the list of Season 48 hosts. However, they never got to work on it because they needed to close the doors as writers went to the picket lines. Now, the SNL vet will be the first person to say "We've got a great show for you tonight" as the host for Episode 1 of Season 49, and he'll follow that up with "Ice Spice is here," as you can see in the show's announcement about the first two episodes:

Along with the exciting news about Season 49 starting with SAG-AFTRA’s blessing and Pete Davidson finally getting his chance to host, we also learned who will helm episode 2. Bad Bunny will be pulling double duty for the second installment of SNL, which is set to air on October 21.

As for the Season 49 cast, you can expect to see everyone from Season 48 back in Studio 8H. This means the cast will include fan favorites like Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang. James Austin Johnson has also been promoted to a featured player. Plus, we'll be seeing fairly new faces like Marcello Hernández, Sarah Sherman and more returning.

Comedian Chloe Troast has also been added to the cast as the only new performer to join this season – she has worked with SNL’s comedic trio Please Don’t Destroy before.

Overall, it sounds like Saturday Night Live is fully back in action, and ready to pick up right where they left off with Pete Davidson hosting.

To catch the SAG-AFTRA-approved 49th Season of SNL you can watch it live at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 14. You can also stream every season of the classic sketch comedy show with a Peacock subscription.