Saturday Night Live season 51 premieres on Oct. 4, 2025. The excitement around who the new cast members will be, new Please Don't Destroy videos, and how the political landscape will shape the show is building, but there is a pressing question left unanswered: who will host the opening episode?
SNL’s hosting history is varied, but generally speaking, hosts are promoting upcoming projects, they are friends of the show, or are generally relevant in the news. There is a woman who fits all these criteria and has a special connection with early October…
Our favorite fictional twin: Lindsay Lohan.
Lohan is known for nostalgic hits like The Parent Trap, Get a Clue, Life Size, and Just My Luck, to name a few. Before leaving Hollywood to focus on a more private life, she was everywhere, including SNL, for years as the ultimate teen queen. Some readers might remember the iconic 2004 Vanity Fair cover, either from begging for it at the grocery checkout or stealing from your older sister, like I did.
The vibes were immaculate, and her agent was working overtime. The Freaky Friday remake was released in 2003, and the endlessly quotable Mean Girls followed in 2004, spawning my favorite movie holiday, Mean Girls Day. Celebrated by the girls and the gays every October 3, Mean Girls Day is tongue-in-cheek fun that gives us an excuse to eat cheese fries and wear lots of pink.
Ever iconic, Lohan hosted SNL once a year between 2004-2006, but she hasn’t hosted since March 2012. Her 2012 appearance was her most recent and her fourth time hosting…meaning our favorite Y2K comeback kid could earn her 5 Timers Jacket on October 4. With Freakier Friday set to release in August, there's no better time for Lohan to return to the SNL stage.
There could be guest appearances by Tina Fey and Jamie Lee Curtis, and if they want to fan the flames of the Lohanaissance, they can have Rachel McAdams or Brenda Song pop in. If they really want to make a splash, they can round out the show with fan favorite and Mean Girls on Broadway alum, Renee Rapp.
Now, with the premiere only a couple of months away, the first few hosts and musical guests may be set, but not announced. Good thing Lohan is a Christmas movie pro, because she could also host the Holiday episode. Holiday episodes almost always have special guests, and I would be so excited to see Aaron Samuels himself, and Christmas king in his own right, Jonathan Bennett, make an appearance.
I'm excited for the new season, regardless of who hosts, but seeing Lindsay Lohan get her jacket and her flowers, after her hiatus, might be powerful enough to finally make fetch happen.
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