snl

Duet SZN.

This coming weekend will see Sam Rockwell taking the SNL stage for the first time, but January 2018 has yet more celebs in store. Season 43 will continue the year with fellow first-timer Jessica Chastain, along with SNL vet Will Ferrell.

The bizarre subculture of dime-store Christmas movies seems oddly pervasive this year, and has not gone unnoticed at SNL. The “Not Ready for Primetime Players” have at least one more gift in the form of a cut short, featuring host James Franco in an endless stream of indistinguishable Hallmark Channel classics.

The ongoing cycle of sexual harassment exposure has repeatedly put SNL in an awkward position; one the show seems reticent to address. In light of accusations against writer-turned-senator Al Franken, however, thirty-six female cast and crew have now spoken out to defend Franken’s name.

No subject is safe from SNL, but the creator behind the “Papyrus” font certainly never thought they’d send Ryan Gosling after him. Following this past weekend’s premiere Avatar sketch, the designer stepped up to defend his creation as “a well-designed font.”

Baby Goose is officially in the building. That’s as far as SNL will let him in the first Season 43 promo, as premiere host Ryan Gosling can’t seem to count on his fame to actually get him through the door.

We knew changes were coming to SNL Season 43 after the departures of Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan and Sasheer Zamata, but these additions are real buzzer-beaters. Ahead of Saturday’s premiere, SNL welcomes Heidi Gardner, Luke Null and Chris Redd to the series, with more than double as many writers.

As SNL brings its summer Weekend Update to a close, we have our first official Season 43 host. Hide your replicants, as Blade Runner 2049 star and returning guest Ryan Gosling will host the late September premiere, joined by an iconic New York musical guest.

The banner year of SNL’s forty-second season culminated with an experiment that saw its final four episodes airing live on the west coast. Now, even as Season 43 loses some familiar faces, creator Lorne Michaels confirms SNL will be keeping its new format.

SNL will have missed out on a lifetime of news by the time Season 43 premieres this fall, but Weekend Update is doing its best to catch up. And who better to sum things up than beloved former anchor Tina Fey, who drops by to stress-eat over the weekend’s events, and scream into some cake?

We thought it down to the wire when word broke before the SNL finale that Vanessa Bayer would join Bobby Moynihan in leaving after Season 42, but it seems another departure went entirely without notice. Reports confirm Sasheer Zamata also took her final bow with this past Saturday’s finale, joining at least two others.

Moynihan's new series will air on CBS in the fall.