When does Saturday Night Live Season 43 start?

Saturday Night Live now has 42 seasons in the can, and now you’re probably already wondering when SNL Season 43 will start.

Last week’s conclusion of the show’s 42nd season was epic. Dwayne Johnson became a member of the Five Timers Club, with Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin inducting him. It was an awesome finale for Season 42, and for fans of the show, it’s going to be a painful wait for Season 43.

As of right now, NBC doesn’t have an official premiere date listed for the return of Saturday Night Live. Still, we can look at their typical pattern, and make our best educated guess.

Last year, Season 42 of SNL premiered on October 1, 2016. Going back another year, Season 41 had its premiere on October 3, 2015. See the pattern? Early October seems to be the typical time frame for the show to make its comeback.

For 2017, October 1 falls on a Sunday. Going by this same pattern, I’m guessing Season 43 will premiere on either September 30 or October 7. It’s still very possible NBC may choose to pick another date besides one of those two, but I’d expect it to at least be very close.

Season 42 of the show had high viewership. In fact, it’s the most watched season of the series in twenty-three years. So don’t think for a second it’s not going to come back. NBC is no doubt enjoying the rise in viewers for their flagship show.

The wait for SNL Season 43 will be long and painful. Here’s hoping it will all be worth it.