| Season Number: | 48 |
| Bgcolour: |
|
| Num Episodes: | 18 |
| Network: | NBC / Peacock (select episodes) |
| Prev Season: | Season 47 |
| Next Season: | Season 49 |
| Episode List: | List of Saturday Night Live episodes |
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,[1] [2] 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.[3] However, due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, the last three planned episodes were cancelled.[4]
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.[5] [6] [7] 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.[8] [9] [10] Bryant and McKinnon separately confirmed this was the case for themselves.[11] [12]
A few years later (ahead of the show's 50th season), he also stated that the reason why he had been hiring so many stand-ups (over the course of seasons 46-48) 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.[13]
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.[14] 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.[15]
On September 12, 2022, Michaels announced that four new cast members would be joining the show:[16] stand-up comedians Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney (the show's first non-binary cast member[17]), 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,[18] with the exception of seasons 6–10 (1980–1985).[19]
Repertory players
Featured players
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor
Before this season started, Colin Jost and Michael Che (who had been head writers since 2017), resigned from their positions, but still continued to write for this season. Also, Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O'Sullivan, Auguste White, and KC Shornima were all hired as new writers (with Shornima specifically writing for Weekend Update).[20] Asha Ward joined the writing staff starting with the December 3, 2022 episode.[21]
As of the February 4, 2023 episode, regular writers Gary Richardson (who had been a staff writer since 2017, but had taken a one-year hiatus from season 47), Will Stephen (a writer since 2015), and Celeste Yim (who joined the writing staff back in 2020) were promoted to writing supervisors.[22]
See main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes.
The following episodes were publicly announced, but cancelled due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
| Scheduled airdate | Booked host | Booked musical guest | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2023 | Pete Davidson | Lil Uzi Vert | [23] | |
| May 13, 2023 | Kieran Culkin | Labrinth | [24] | |
| May 20, 2023 | Jennifer Coolidge | Foo Fighters |