Saturday Night Live returns for its 52nd season on NBC on September 26, 2026, with New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson hosting the premiere alongside musical guest Katseye. The late-night sketch show also announced hosts Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis, and Inde Navarrette for the fall lineup.
Jalen Brunson Leads Season 52 Premiere After Championship Win
The late-night sketch comedy institution is back with less cast turnover than the previous year, kicking off its upcoming run with a sports crossover. New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson will host the season opener on Sept. 26. The appearance solidifies his role as King of New York
after winning the 2026 NBA Finals and leading his team to their first NBA championship in 53 years.
Brunson earned NBA Finals MVP as the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win the franchise’s third championship. Both Brunson and girl group KATSEYE are first-timers at “SNL.” The NBC sketch comedy show airs at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and streams live on Peacock.
Fall Schedule Brings Back Returning Hosts and a Halloween Debut
SNL will return with three straight weeks of episodes beginning Saturday, Sept. 26, before returning with a Halloween episode to end October. Following the season premiere, Dakota Johnson will take over as host for the third time on Oct. 3, joined by hardcore rock band Turnstile making their SNL debut amid their Never Enough Tour Pt. 2. Johnson’s film “Verity” hits theaters on Oct. 2.
Shane Gillis will host SNL for the third time on Oct. 10 with Rosalía as musical guest. Gillis broke the Guinness World Record for largest stand-up audience this summer and recently released Season 3 of his Netflix show “Tires,while Rosalía will wrap up her Lux world tour the month before her second time at
SNL.”
SNL takes a two-week break after that, returning on Halloween night with Inde Navarrette making her hosting debut. Navarrette is the breakout star of the hit horror film “Obsession. She will be joined on Oct. 31 by musical guest Gracie Abrams, who returns to SNL for the second time after releasing the album
Daughter From Hell” earlier this year.
Cast Departures Shape the Offseason Ahead of Studio 8H Return
Offseason news from SNL has been quiet, with the show returning this year with less cast turnover than in 2025. Ahead of the season, Chloe Fineman announced her departure from the show. The comedian, who joined SNL as a featured player in 2019, shared the news on Instagram in July.
Writer and Please Don’t Destroy star Martin Herlihy is also set to exit the series after five seasons, USA TODAY understands. The former cast member appeared on screen for four seasons as part of the sketch trio before transitioning to the writing staff, only appearing occasionally onscreen in Season 51. No additional casting changes have been announced, and in a July interview with USA TODAY, Kam Patterson, who joined the show in 2025, confirmed he’ll be back for the new season.
