Saturday Night Live unveils star-studded host lineup for season 50

Saturday Night Live is going to have a big year. The show will serve as the basis of the upcoming film Saturday Night, and it will be celebrating its fiftieth season on the air. It's difficult to quantify such an impressive achievement, but based on the celebrities that have been booked for the upcoming season, SNL is doing their best to honor it.

As is customary with the sketch show, SNL unveiled the hosts and musical guests for the first five episodes of the season. The lineups for future episodes will be released at a later date. Not that it matters much, given how impressive the initial batch of names are.

Emmy winner Jean Smart will host the season premiere

Jean Smart will host the show's premiere episode on September 28, and she will be accompanied by musical guest Jelly Roll. Nate Bargatze will take over hosting duties on the October 5 episode, and he will be throwing musical duties over to the legendary Coldplay.

We haven't even gotten to the heavy hitters yet. Saturday Night Live's fiftieth season will really kick into high gear on October 12, when Ariana Grande will return to host for a second time. The actress will be promoting her role in the upcoming film Wicked, and as such, will actually be handing off the musical performances to Stevie Nicks.

Michael Keaton and John Mulaney will return to host

Michael Keaton, still riding high from the success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, will host SNL on October 19, while Billie Eilish will make her return as the musical guest. The fifth episode of season 50 will call upon SNL alum and fan favorite John Mulaney. He will host the November 2 episode, and introduce a few performances from musical guest Chappell Roan while he's at it.

Saturday Night Live's previous season was not anybody's favorite. Kenan Thompson joked about the season's quality during its finale episode, and since we had to sit through the horrid Dua Lipa episode, we're inclined to agree. Given the talent involved in season 50, though, we're hopeful that SNL can turn the tide.