Saturday Night Live season 48


The forty-eighth season of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live premiered on October 1, 2022, during the 2022–23 television season with host Miles Teller and musical guest Kendrick Lamar, and concluded on April 15, 2023, with host Ana de Armas and musical guest Karol G. The season was originally scheduled to air 21 episodes and conclude on May 20, 2023. However, due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, the last three planned episodes were cancelled.

Cast

Eight cast members from season 47 left the show prior to the beginning of this season, making it the biggest cast exodus since 1995. The departures of longtime cast members Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney were announced at the time of the season 47 finale, and in September 2022, several weeks prior to the start of this season, the departures of Alex Moffat, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor, and featured player Aristotle Athari were announced. In response to all these changes, executive producer Lorne Michaels called this season a "transition year".
Michaels also stated that the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason why all those cast members stayed on longer than usual, compared to previous casts, and that they would've left earlier had it not happened, saying most cast "had nowhere to go" during the pandemic. Bryant and McKinnon separately confirmed this was the case for themselves.
A few years later, he also stated that the reason why he had been hiring so many stand-ups is because many of their go-to improv clubs like The Groundlings, Second City, and Upright Citizens Brigade were shut down during the pandemic. Stating in part that "a whole generation" of improv comedians weren't auditioning, but stand-ups were.
Returning cast member Cecily Strong took a temporary leave of absence early in the season due to her commitments to perform in the Los Angeles revival of the one-woman stage play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, returning to SNL for the October 29, 2022, episode. Strong then departed several weeks later on December 17 after being on the show for eleven seasons since 2012, making her the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's history.
On September 12, 2022, Michaels announced that four new cast members would be joining the show: stand-up comedians Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.
Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson, who were both hired as featured players for season 46, were promoted to repertory status this season, while James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, both of whom were hired for season 47, remained as featured players.
This season saw the death of longtime production designer Eugene Lee, who died on February 6, 2023, and had worked on the show since the show's premiere on October 11, 1975, with the exception of seasons 6–10.

Cast roster

Repertory playersMichael Che
Featured players
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Prior to the start of the season, Colin Jost and Michael Che, stepped down from their positions, though remained on the writing staff for the season. Writers Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O'Sullivan, Auguste White, and KC Shornima were all hired as new writers. Asha Ward joined the writing staff starting with the December 3, 2022 episode.
Beginning with the February 4, 2023 episode, writers Gary Richardson, Will Stephen, and Celeste Yim were promoted to writing supervisors.

Episodes



Episodes canceled due to writers strike

The following episodes were publicly announced, but cancelled due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
Scheduled airdateBooked hostBooked musical guestRef.
May 6, 2023Pete DavidsonLil Uzi Vert
May 13, 2023Kieran CulkinLabrinth
May 20, 2023Jennifer CoolidgeFoo Fighters