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| "SNL" will return for Season 44 soon. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC |
By Nicole Massabrook, International Business Times
“Saturday Night Live” is coming back. The NBC variety show will return with the Season 44 premiere later this week.
“SNL” Season 44 starts Saturday, Sept. 29 at 11:30 p.m. EDT. Adam Driver will host while Kanye West will be the musical guest.
Driver has hosted “SNL” before. Just after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hit theaters, the Kylo Ren actor made his debut on the comedy. This time, he’ll be promoting “BlackKklansman,” the Spike Lee-directed film in which he plays a cop infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan.
West, meanwhile, will make his seventh appearance on “Saturday Night Live” as the musical guest. This will mark his first time taking the “SNL” stage since 2016. While the rapper hasn’t been performing, he certainly hasn’t been forgotten either. One of last year’s best skits was “A Kanye Place” with Donald Glover.
When “SNL” Season 44 kicks off, there will be some new faces in front of and behind the camera. Ego Nwodim joins the cast as a featured player. The UCB alum has previously appeared on “Law & Order True Crime,” “K.C. Undercover” and “Two Broke Girls.” In addition, Alan Linic, Alison Gates, Eli Mandel and Bowen Yang are new writers on the series.
Expect plenty of familiar faces too. While on the “Origins with James Andrew Miller” podcast, executive producer Lorne Michaels said that Alec Baldwin will likely return to impersonate President Donald Trump. “Oh, I think he’ll be back,” Michaels said. “I think there is probably no other actor who is looking to take that and follow Alec. And I think, for a new cast member to come in and try that would be a really tough thing to do.”
Of course, Kenan Thompson, the cast member with the longest tenure, will return to “SNL” as well. However, his 16th season may be his last. He has a primetime comedy, called “Saving Larry,” in development that could be his next gig. However, no decisions will be made until spring, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“SNL” Season 44 premieres Saturday on NBC.
