Saturday Night Live has finalized its Season 52 cast by adding stand-up comedian Grace Reiter and filmmaker Saidah Belo-Osagie as featured players. The NBC sketch series returns on Sept. 26 with host Jalen Brunson, following a summer audition process that evaluated more than a dozen comedians across Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
The New Additions and Their Backgrounds
The arrival of Reiter and Belo-Osagie fills out the troupe just ahead of the premiere, bringing fresh perspectives from the digital comedy and indie film worlds. Reiter, a Wisconsin-born stand-up and actor from Chippewa Falls, built a following on TikTok and YouTube before landing a role in Tim Robinson’s HBO comedy series The Chair Company. She is also a member of American High’s sketch team, appeared in Chelsea Peretti’s feature First Time Female Director, and stars in the upcoming series Minimum Wage (based on the web series of the same name), alongside her work on the online parody The Hunger Games (but Better).
Earlier this year, Reiter was listed as one of Variety’s 10 Creators to Watch. Belo-Osagie is a Nigerian American filmmaker and comedian from Queens, who is now based in Brooklyn. Her work spans comedy, filmmaking, and live events. She is the creator of the event series Afrobeats Futura and the solo theater show Saidah Gets Closure. In 2020, she wrote and directed the short film Tinge. She has also built an audience through comedy sketches and digital work. Reflecting on the milestone, Belo-Osagie wrote in an Instagram story that joining SNL is a dream come true.
Restoring Representation to Studio 8H
Belo-Osagie’s addition brings two new faces to Studio 8H and directly addresses a notable shift in the show’s previous lineup. Her casting restores Black female representation to the on-screen ensemble following Ego Nwodim’s exit. Nwodim left the series following seven seasons, and her departure ahead of Season 51 marked the first time in several years that “SNL” began a season without a Black woman among its regular cast.
The casting selections are the result of a summer evaluation. SNL executives evaluated more than a dozen comedians during auditions that took place across Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. While the process concluded later than the show’s traditional early-September timeline when the troupe is typically solidified, it successfully locked in the final casting announcement of the season.
Cast Shakeups and Returning Veterans
The incoming freshmen arrive during a period of transition for the long-running NBC show. Season 52 follows the departure of Chloe Fineman, who announced her departure in July after seven seasons, and Bowen Yang, who left mid-season in December during Season 51. Behind the scenes, Martin Herlihy of Please Don’t Destroy is also leaving his post as a writer and sometime on-screen performer.
Despite those exits, the rest of the show’s cast from last season will largely return, and all remaining members of the Season 51 cast are returning for Season 52. All members of the Season 51 freshman class—including Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska—are back. They return alongside veterans Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Colin Jost, and Mikey Day, as well as Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline.
Looking Ahead to the Season 52 Premiere
The sketch staple opens its new run on Sept. 26 with New York Knicks guard and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson making his hosting debut, alongside musical guest KATSEYE. NBC and the show have already outlined an initial stretch of autumn hosts and musical guests for October. The next episodes are headlined by Dakota Johnson and Turnstile on Oct. 3, Shane Gillis and Rosalía on Oct. 10, and Obsession star Inde Navarrette (also spelled Inde Navarette) and Gracie Abrams on Oct. 31, setting a fast-paced tone for the newly expanded troupe as they head back live to Studio 8H.