Posted in: NBC, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: ariana debose, bleachers, nbc, preview, roddy ricch, saturday night live, snl

Saturday Night Live: Roddy Ricch Out Over COVID; Bleachers Announced

Published Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:53:14 -0600

by Ray Flook

Last updated Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:54:42 -0600

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With three days to go until NBC's Saturday Night Live is set to make its return, COVID-19 is already having an impact on the show. While Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, Schmigadoon!) is still set to host, musical guest rapper Roddy Ricch took to Instagram stories to reveal that he won't be performing this weekend "due to recent COVID exposure" on his team. Bleachers (including Jack Antonoff) will be the musical guest in Ricch's place.

During a tour behind-the-scenes of SNL's show night with CBS Mornings host Gayle King for his Kennedy Center honor before the end of the year, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels revealed that he had been thinking of retiring and thought it was a "really good time to leave." But first and foremost, his commitment is to see the show make it to that milestone. "I think I'm committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years. I'd like to see that through, and I have a feeling that'd be a really good time to leave," Michaels explained. "I won't want the show ever to be bad. I care too deeply about it. It's been my life's work. So I'm going to do everything I can to see it carry on and carry on well," he continued. And while Michaels was loathed to discuss details on something that wouldn't happen for three more years, he did admit when it comes to who would take on the role next that they had "a sense of where we're headed with that."

NBC's Saturday Night Live Season 47 cast includes Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor, and Bowen Yang; feature players include the returning Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson, as well as new players Aristotle Athari (Future Man, All Rise), James Austin Johnson (Silicon Valley), and Sarah Sherman (The Eric Andre Show).