SNL Promotes 2 Cast Members Ahead of Season 49 Premiere
Almost a week out from its Season 49 premiere, NBC’s Saturday Night Live has promoted two featured players to the main cast.
SNL sources confirm for TVLine that James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, both of whom made their debuts during Season 47, have been bumped up to Repertory Player status for Season 49. (NBC declined comment. )
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The two promotions (first tweeted about by Saturday Night Network) come on the heels of NBC announcing that Chloe Troast is joining the ensemble as a featured player this fall.
The full cast from last season is set to return, including Johnson and Sherman, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernández, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson (who’s marking 20 years!), Devon Walker and Bowen Yang.
SNL will kick off its strike-delayed 49th season on Oct. 14 with Studio 8H alum Pete Davidson as host and Ice Spice as musical guest. The following week, Bad Bunny will serve as musical guest and host.
SNL, it must be noted, is returning with the full blessing of SAG-AFTRA, whose members are currently on strike.
“Our members appearing on Saturday Night Live either as hosts, guests, or cast members are working under the Network Code agreement, which is not a contract we are striking,” the union said in a statement. “They are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations.”
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