'SNL' Is Not Airing a New Episode Following Eddie Murphy's Appearance

From Good Housekeeping

Unless you have late-night plans this Saturday night, there won't be any big reason to stay up extra late: There's isn't a new Saturday Night Live episode airing on NBC this weekend.

While it's definitely a bummer, you'll likely be pumped about who is hosting SNL when the comedy series does come back in late January. Per Deadline, Star Wars actor Adam Driver will host the first SNL episode of 2020 on Saturday, January 25. What's more, Halsey will be the musical guest (her third time doing so on the sketch series).

Photo credit: NBC
Photo credit: NBC

Yay, can't wait! But why is there no new episode of SNL tonight?

The show's month-long break is pretty typical and doesn't necessarily mean any crazy drama is happening behind the scenes. While the true reason why SNL takes breaks is unknown, it could, as one Redditor cleverly noted, have to do with the number of episodes that NBC orders per season.

For the past five years, the network has issued 20-22 episodes each season. The seemingly random breaks help stretch the show over the course of roughly eight months (end of September to mid-late May) -- a typical time frame for most big network shows to run. Just like how This Is Us or A Million Little Things goes on a hiatus (usually during the holiday season), SNL has to break up their season, too. Then, like most big shows that premiere in the fall, SNL is off for the entire summer.

Beyond that reasoning, the occasional breaks may also benefit the show's writers and comedians and provide the rest of the crew plenty of time to rehearse, make sets and costumes, and more.

All in all, breaks can be a good thing, especially when it means that viewers will be rewarded with talent like Adam and Halsey when the wait is over. Also, we could all catch up on our sleep, right?

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