“Saturday Night Live” opened its Season 49 premiere this week without a skit, instead host Pete Davidson talking about “the horrific images and stories coming out of Israel and Gaza.”
Davidson said, “And I know what you’re thinking. Who better to comment on this than Pete Davidson? Well, in many ways I’m a good person to talk about this because when I was seven years old my father was killed in a terrorist attack. So I know something about what that’s like.
“I have seen so many terrible images this week. Suffering children, Israeli children and Palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. No one in this world deserves to suffer like this, especially not children.
“After my father died, my mother tried just about everything to cheer me up. I remember a day when I was eight. She got me what she thought was a Disney movie. But it was actually the Eddie Murphy stand-up special “Delirious.” And we played it in the car on the way home. And when she heard what Eddie Murphy said, she tried to take it away. But then she noticed something. For the first time in a long time I laughed again. I do not understand that. I really don’t and never will. But sometimes comedy really is the only way through tragedy.
“You know, my heart goes out to everyone whose lives were destroyed this week. But tonight I’m going to do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy, and that’s try to be funny.”
After Davidson’s opening monologue, the first sketch of the night tackled the Taylor Swift/NFL mania in a parody of Fox’s NFL Sunday team. As the hosts tried to outdo each other with their Swift fan base, the skit ended with a cameo from Travis Kelce himself — the Kansas City Chiefs tight end at the center of the commotion.
It took a few months longer than expected, but Pete Davidson finally took the Studio 8H stage Saturday night to host the Season 49 premiere of Saturday Night Live. After the series was canceled in May due to the Hollywood writers’ strike, the Oct. 14 episode of “SNL” marks the first of three consecutive weeks of original airings.
Davidson was set to host the show last season before the WGA strike forced “SNL” to shut down the show. Ice Spice is this week’s musical guest. Bad Bunny will next host and perform on October 21st.
This is the first time Davidson has been back on “SNL” since leaving as a cast member in 2022. Davidson spent eight seasons as a cast member, but this is his first time as a guest host on the show. Davidson’s originally scheduled hosting gig on May 6 was supposed to coincide with the premiere of his new Peacock comedy “Bupkis” that week; This show has been renewed for a second season. He can also currently be seen in the feature film “Dumb Money,” released late last month.
Returning “SNL” stars include Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang, while “Weekend Update” co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost are back . James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman join the regular cast, while Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker return as leads.
“SNL” airs simultaneously live throughout the United States, including prime time on the West Coast. The show is one of the most-watched entertainment programs on television among viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic most favored by advertisers.
NBCUniversal has already begun negotiations with advertisers for sponsorships related to the groundbreaking 50th season of “SNL,” scheduled to debut in fall 2024. In March, “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels gave a presentation at Studio 8H, the show’s longtime home at NBC’s New York headquarters, to about 100 advertisers about what to expect as the anniversary approaches. NBC is planning a series of retrospectives centered around “SNL,” as well as at least one documentary about the show.
While SAG-AFTRA has not yet resolved its strike with the studios, the union said the “SNL” cast would be allowed to return to production. “SAG-AFTRA members who appear on Saturday Night Live as either hosts, guests or performers operate under the Network Code Agreement, which is not a contract we enter into. They are not violating SAG-AFTRA strike rules and we are supporting them in fulfilling their contractual obligations.”