Explaining My Thoughts and Concerns for the Upcoming 51st Season of "Saturday Night Live"

I've known about Saturday Night Live since I was a kid, and it wasn't until my early teens that I started watching on NBC. By then, the known core group wasn't there anymore. People like Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Chris Rock were out of there and doing other things. On a sad note, SNL legends like Chris Farley and Phil Hartman left this world; the latter in the near end of 1997 and the former just five months later.

I've enjoyed SNL for over a quarter-century, and last year was their milestone 50th season. Quite a big celebration, indeed, but the hiatus has seen a lot of developments--mainly in the form of departures.

Fans have been hit with a lot of cast departures during the 2025 hiatus, and they all came with Season 51 closing in. The news about Devon Walker leaving surprised me, and I was even more shocked when Michael Longfellow left. Emil Wakim was also out, but he only had one season; Walker and Longfellow didn't have that much longer, but they definitely established themselves. As stunning as those depatures were, the next two really hit hard. Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim--both left SNL a month prior to the upcoming premiere. These two had been on for a long time, and while both have them have reached a point where they don't need SNL anymore, it still hurts the show.

Heidi Gardner joined SNL in 2017. Ego Nwodim joined a year later. Both have done so much other stuff during their SNL tenures, so they'll be fine. But the effect is damning, especially when it comes to Nwodim's departure. Ego Nwodim's departure from SNL leaves something missing from the show: a Black woman. With the season premiere in two weeks, SNL has no Black female cast members, and I can't help but think back to 2013 when SNL was called out for their severe lack of Black female cast members. In fact, in half a century of existence, Ego Nwodim was only the seventh Black woman to serve as a cast member. The other six: Yvonne Hudson, the late Danitra Vance, Ellen Cleghorne, Maya Rudolph, Sasheer Zamata, and Leslie Jones. In fact, with Walker and Nwodim gone, that leaves Kenan Thompson and Michael Che as the show's only Black cast members, and with Che only appearing on Weekend Update, that means we'll only see Kenan throughout the show.

Another thing that bugged me was that they had still yet to announce the first hosts for Season 51, but on September 18, 2025, that changed:

Finally, the first hosts of the upcoming season were announced. First off, Bad Bunny will host the season premiere on October 4, which is absolutely big. I've learned over the years that the biggest honors for SNL hosts is hosting the season premiere, the holiday episode (which is usually the winter finale), the first episode of the New Year (the midseason premiere), and of course, the season finale. So Bad Bunny hosting the opener is awesome for sure. This will be Bad Bunny's second time hosting; in October 2023, he hosted and served as the musical guest. Bad Bunny is coming off his hilarious appearance in Happy Gilmore 2, which also featured current SNL cast member Marcello Hernandez. Doja Cat will serve as the musical guest; I hope she appears in a sketch or two.

On October 11--the actual 50th anniversary of SNL, it's Amy Poehler's turn. Poehler, an SNL legend who was part of the cast from 2001-08, will host for the third time overall, and the second time solo (Poehler co-hosted with Tina Fey a decade prior). Role Model will serve as the musical guest. Finally, October 18 will see Sabrina Carpenter pull double duty as host and musical guest, doing the former for the very first time. I'm always intrigued when the host is a musician who wears both hats on the show; it's the TV equivalent of watching Shohei Ohtani in action.

I'll be honest, announcing hosts this late raises my concerns about Season 51. Usually, the first hosts of the season are publicly announced about a month ahead of time. Now, I've heard the rumblings about SNL from the court of public opinion. "The show's declining," "It's not as good as it used to be." Here's the thing. Unlike when the same crap is said about The Simpsons, there's some merit when it comes to SNL. I've noticed it. The spark is fading. I've reached a point where I mainly watch SNL to be excited about the host and for Weekend Update. There's still quite a few good names on the show: Kenan Thompson, Sarah Sherman, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Marcello Hernandez, Bowen Yang, you name it.

Despite the evidence of SNL's decline, I still try my best to enjoy the show, because I remember when it was a classic. It can be again. All I ask of SNL for Season 51 is two things. One, I want the current cast (what's left of the current core and the incoming newbies) shows out as best as they can. I know they can do it if given the chance. We judge the new cast members, but everyone's been a rookie at some point. I truly think that the newbies will shine eventually if given the chance and given the opportunity.

And two (and more importantly), SNL is off to a great start with the hosts this upcoming season. Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, and Sabrina Carpenter are excellent. Keep it that way. Please keep it that way. No toxic pricks this season. If I even see the names Shane Gillis and Morgan Wallen appear on my TV screen during SNL this season, I'll fucking lose it. I came very close to ragequitting watching SNL about a year or two ago, and that's because they keep bringing in toxic pricks who shouldn't have a platform anymore. And with things being so messed up in the world of comedy, with shows being pulled because certain people can't handle facts and/or can't take a joke, the last thing we need is some bigoted idiot like Shane Gillis hosting SNL yet again, being rewarded for bigotry when other comics have been punished for much less.

As a fan of SNL for over 25 years, I wish and hope for the best for Season 51, which starts on October 4.