Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL Season 51 Cast Changes Reportedly Complete; Big Names Returning

Reports are that the cast changes to NBC's Saturday Night Live are complete, with a number of big names returning for SNL Season 51.

Published Sun, 07 Sep 2025 22:53:04 -0500

by Ray Flook

Last updated Sun, 07 Sep 2025 22:53:10 -0500

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Article Summary

SNL Season 51 cast changes are reportedly complete ahead of the October 4th premiere.
Colin Jost and Michael Che are reportedly set to return to the Weekend Update desk.
Several new featured players, including Ben Marshall and Tommy Brennan, join the cast lineup.
Season 51 is shaping up to have a larger cast than the milestone 50th anniversary season.

After the departures of writers Rosebud Baker and Celeste Yim, cast members Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner, as well as featured player Emil Wakim, fans of NBC's Saturday Night Live were left wondering who was next. It's understandable, considering that EP Lorne Michaels spoke of significant changes that will come before SNL returns for Season 51 on October 4th. Shortly after, it was announced that Please Don't Destroy's Ben Marshall was joining the cast (with Martin Herlihy staying on as a writer and John Higgins departing), Tommy Brennan (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), Jeremy Culhane (Dropout TV, LA's Upright Citizens Brigade), Kam Patterson (Kill Tony), and Veronika Slowikowska (Tires, What We Do in the Shadows) had joined the cast as featured players.

SNL — SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Season 50 Cast Shot — Pictured: (top row l-r) Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, Devon Walker, Chloe Fineman, Jane Wickline, Ashley Padilla, Andrew Dismukes; (bottom row l-r) Michael Che, Colin Jost, Marcello Hernández, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson — (Photo by: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC)

That brought us to this weekend, with Scarlett Johansson confirming that her husband, Colin Jost, would be back behind the "Weekend Update" anchor desk during an interview at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Well, it turns out that was a harbinger of more good news to come. Deadline Hollywood is reporting from sources that the cast changes are now complete, with the news coming during the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys (with the show and SNL50 walking away with 11 awards). For those who've been wondering about Michael Che after the news about Jost hit, he will be returning to SNL and will co-anchor "Weekend Update" with Jost once again.

Assuming the sources are correct, the confirmed lineup for Season 51 would be larger than the lineup for the anniversary season, consisting of Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang, current featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline, and newcomers Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.

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