Saturday Night Live will air a brand-new episode tonight, January 18. The latest entry in season 50 should be one for the books.
SNL went on its annual holiday hiatus following the December 21 episode hosted by Martin Short. That show busted out all the stops, bringing together some of comedy's biggest names including Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy, and John Mulaney.
Now, a refreshed and recharged Saturday Night Live is ready for its first show of 2025. Comedian Dave Chappelle returns to Studio 8H to host for the fourth time. Rapper GloRilla joins him as tonight's musical guest.
It all starts at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Here's what to watch for during tonight's episode
Dave Chappelle's monologue
Many Saturday Night Live fans assumed that Dave Chappelle would host an episode during season 50. However, it wasn't the post-election episode that many believed would star Chappelle.
Instead, that gig went to Bill Burr. But Chappelle's episode comes at another pivotal moment in time, just days before Donald Trump's inauguration.
Chappelle made headlines for his post-election monologues in 2016 and 2020. Few comedians can be as thoughtful on stage as Chappelle while still weaving in comedy. Expect more of the same when he comes out for his 2025 monologue.
More season 50 cameos
We knew that Saturday Night Live season 50 was going to be a big one. A parade of celebrity cameos has helped make nearly every episode seem special.
Chappelle's episode is another candidate for a cameo or two. His past SNL episodes show that Chappelle isn't exactly going to disappear into a character or go too broad. So it may help to bring in some backup to give sketches a boost.
Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey, and Maya Rudolph showed up during Chappelle's episode in 2020. Chris Rock and Chappelle's Show actor Donelle Rawlings appeared in 2016. Rawlings and Ice-T also had cameos when Chappelle hosted in 2022.
Which direction will SNL take the cold open?
It wasn't all that fun to go weeks without a new episode of Saturday Night Live. But the good news is that SNL returns at a time where there is an abundance of material to parody.
SNL's cold open has a few options this week. It could go the serious route and avoid the normal sketch for something acknowledging the deadly fires in Los Angeles.
If SNL wants to get political right off the bat, it could bring in Dana Carvey one more time to parody President Joe Biden's farewell address. Such a sketch would also let Maya Rudolph give a proper farewell to her version of Kamala Harris (depending on her availability).
Or, SNL could choose to focus on Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing. Trump's pick for secretary of defense had to answer a lot of questions about his past behavior and comments. It was the kind of moment SNL usually pounces on and uses a cameo to cash in on the press.
We'll find out tonight when Saturday Night Live airs a brand-new episode.