Is Saturday Night Live Finally Back Yet?
Another 2023 Saturday has arrived, and it will be another Saturday without a new episode of Saturday Night Live. For the last time this month, the cast and crew remain on a holiday hiatus. As is standard, NBC will air two episodes in lieu of a new broadcast from 30 Rock. In the 10:00 p.m. Eastern slot, an episode from deep within the SNL catalog will be broadcast. In the show's regular timeslot at 11:30 p.m., the Amy Schumer and Steve Lacy episode from the beginning days of Season 48 will air.
New episodes will return to Studio 8H next Saturday on January 21st. Upon its return, the series will be hosted by Aubrey Plaza with musical guest Sam Smith. It's Plaza's first time hosting the live sketch comedy while it will be Smith's third time as musical guest.
When the series does return with new episodes, however, it will be without mainstay Cecily Strong, who departed the show at the conclusion of its holiday episode.
"My heart is bursting. I have a lot of big huge life changing love to unpack, so this is what I can say tonight," Strong said in a lengthy post on Instagram explaining her decision. "Ten and a half years ago I got my dream job. The first actual work day I tried to be very cool and make it look like I knew what i was doing and I was supposed to be there."
"I left that night around 11 after saying goodbye to everyone. I got stuck wandering around the building because none of the elevators went to the first floor and I was trying so hard to avoid having to go back upstairs to ask for help because I'd already said goodbye," she continued. "I think I went to every floor trying to figure out if there was another exit I was missing. I might have even gone into a stairwell. I ended up going back upstairs and my soon-to-be great friend Colin Jost helped me out and walked me over to the secret night time elevator. It felt as impossible to leave that night as it does now."
How to watch Saturday Night Live
Throughout the remainder of Season 48, currently expected to run through next May, NBC is simulcasting new episodes live on both NBC and Peacock. Peacock also serves as the streaming vault for all SNL episodes from its inception, with new episodes being added the day after they air.
Virtually every SNL episode, other than the select few locked away for good because of a variety of reasons, is now available to watch on the streaming service.