SNL Eyes October Return as Writers' Strike Winds Down
Saturday Night Live fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief; the Writers Guild and the studios have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike which had previously shortened Season 48 by three episodes. The news started making rounds when the writers shut their notepads in early May, leaving viewers with an unfulfilled urge for their regular comedic comfort food.
The NBC's show, renowned for being gone with the summer sun and back following the autumn leaves, will likely make a comeback on October 7 or 14. However, this return date is contingent upon the ratification vote by the WGA.
WGA's negotiating committee is anticipated to endorse the agreement and forward it to the WGA West Board and WGA East Council for a vote, setting Tuesday as its most probable date. This move, if accepted, could terminate the restraining order and pave the way for the writers to return to their keyboards.
To give some context, when the last writers strike ended on February 12, 2008, SNL promptly flipped the production switch back on just six days later for the February 23 episode. That particular episode was graced by Tina Fey, 30 Rock star and former SNL cast member, as a host with the musical spectacle put up by Carrie Underwood.
However, one key difference this time is the actors’ strike complicating matters a bit further. Should all cast members choose to return under these conditions is yet unresolved and could result to at least a couple of weeks’ delay.
Onto the actors, the question of whether key SNL figures like Chloe Fineman, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang will be back for Season 49 remains unanswered. Some may opt to follow Mayim Bialik in holding off their return until there's further clarity.
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Now, for those of you who've hung in there, it's time to spice things up with some signature Addison Prentice sass. You see, this is Hollywood - twist and turns are just another day in Tinseltown. A writers' strike here, an actors' strike there, and between all the picket lines, plots thicken faster than gravy on a stovetop.
SNL's got quite the jigsaw puzzle to solve, and we're not just talking about the cryptic crossword in Sunday's paper. James Austin Johnson, the uncanny impersonator of our beloved political figures, and Sarah Sherman, the archetype of quirk, are on the promotion deck. But will the 2022 hires, including Marcelo Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker and, heart-throb creator Lorne Michaels, return before our PSL's run out?
The host lineup is another kettle of fish. Most of last season's hosts were actors currently knotting brows at the SAG-AFTRA deal. And we all know Hollywood's golden rule: you don't cross a picket line unless you're looking for bad publicity or a sudden career change. SNL's got a bit of a brain teaser there. Potentially asking musicians to fill the host role might just be the plot twist we're waiting for. Taylor Swift fresh from her record breaking tour? Sounds like a recipe for a Hollywood spectacle.
Well, only time, or a ratified WGA agreement, will tell the full tale. As we dust off our remotes and prep our popcorn for SNL's return, here's hoping some of the online suggestions come to fruition. AOC on the SNL stage? Now that's a season premiere I'd tune in for. For now, sit tight, because in 48 hours, much like LA traffic, it will all start moving.
