Is Saturday Night Live new tonight, May 20?

Saturday Night Live (Photo by: NBCUniversal)
Saturday Night Live (Photo by: NBCUniversal) /
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Mid-May typically brings the end of the Saturday Night Live season. So what should SNL fans expect to see tonight on NBC?

It has been another atypical season of Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels promised a season of change, but the longtime producer only meant in terms of the cast. Unfortunately, the Writers Guild of America brought an unforeseen change to SNL season 48: There hasn’t been a new episode since April 15.

And with the WGA strike still going, that won’t change on Saturday. There will not be a new episode of Saturday Night Live tonight.

Instead, NBC will reair the April 8 episode from earlier this season. Saturday Night Live fans can tune in to watch host Molly Shannon and musical guest The Jonas Brothers once again.

Those looking for an extra dose of SNL are also in luck. At 10:00 p.m. ET, catch a rerun of the May 18, 2019 episode. Paul Rudd was the host alongside musical guest DJ Khaled.

When will Saturday Night Live return?

All in all, it looks like the WGA strike cost Saturday Night Live three episodes this season. Pete Davidson, Kieran Culkin, and Jennifer Coolidge were set to host the final three episodes of the year before the strike put nearly everything in the entertainment industry on hold.

Tonight would have been the season final of Saturday Night Live. The show won’t stick around in hopes of a quick end to the strike and the chance to put on more episodes in May.

So what does that mean for the return of Saturday Night Live? It means you’ll have to wait until late September or early October for season 49 to premiere.

What SNL will look like by then is anyone’s guess. Some cast members may have planned to exit after season 48. Perhaps the unusual way it concluded will convince some to return for at least an abbreviated stay in season 49, similar to what Cecily Strong did this season.