'SNL' tries to fix cast crisis with Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter?

Saturday Night Live might have been attempting to turn things around with Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter after a major cast shakeup.

Despite a high-profile cast exodus, the long-running NBC comedy sketch show is set to return for Season 51 with an A-list lineup of hosts and musical guests.

On Thursday, September 18, SNL announced via its official Instagram account that the new season will premiere on October 4, along with the lineup for the first three episodes.

Kicking off the season, Puerto Rican rapper will return to Studio 8H to host the first episode, with Doja Cat as the musical guest.

On October 11, SNL alum Amy Poehler will take over hosting duties for Episode 2, joined by Role Model as the musical guest.

Meanwhile, the Espresso hitmaker is set to pull double duty on October 18, marking her SNL hosting debut while also returning as musical guest.

Bad Bunny’s upcoming appearance will be his fifth on the show. He first made a cameo in a remote sketch on April 25, 2020, before officially debuting as a musical guest on February 20, 2021.

He later hosted and performed in a double-duty episode in October 2023, and returned again as a musical guest for the Season 50 finale in May 2025.

As for the Please Please Please chart topper, she first appeared as a musical guest during the Season 49 finale, hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal, and also performed at the 50th Anniversary special.

These high-profile appearances come in the wake of a major cast overhaul as Devon Walker, Ego Nwodim, Emil Wakim, Heidi Gardner, John Higgins, and Michael Longfellow bid farewell ahead of the new season.

In response to the six members leaving, SNL has added five new featured players to its cast, including Ben Marshall, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, Tommy Brennan, and Veronika Slowikowska.

With fresh faces joining the cast and major celebrities headlining, Saturday Night Live might finally get its groove back, as one fan put it, "Praying for SNL to survive this administration."