Saturday Night Live announced on Thursday that the 46th season of the comedy institution will premiere on October 3rd. And rather than continue the At Home episodes from the spring, the show will return to its longtime home at Studio 8H inside 30 Rock.
It's unclear whether there will be any studio audience during the broadcasts, but based on other late night shows which have returned to empty studios, that seems unlikely.
There's also no word yet on possible hosts, or even if there will be normal hosts. In the other major SNL announcement to be made this week, Ego Nwodim was promoted from featured player to main cast member in her third season on the show.
Earlier this summer, Maya Rudolph told The Hollywood Reporter that Lorne Michaels had reached out to her and sent her a text suggesting he wants her back on SNL as Kamala Harris. "He sent me a GIF of myself, as Kamala, in sunglasses, sipping a cocktail and saying, 'Oh no.' That really made me laugh," Rudolph said.
"Over the years, I've had to watch people come back and forth, but I've never been in a position like Alec Baldwin—who doesn't even work there but is there every week," she added. "I don't know what this means. I don't know what the hell is going to happen—nor does anybody else."
Like many other late night television shows, SNL shut down production in mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. They ended up going remote for three At Home episodes—the limitations of being separated across the country were an awkward fit for the first episode, but the last two contained some of the best SNL material of the entire season, and gave every cast member a chance to shine.
In case it all seems like a blur to you, you can check out the best live sketches and the best At Home sketches from last season.
