Saturday Night Live: Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne to Host Season Finale

The latest season of Saturday Night Live is drawing to a close, and the comedy has a newcomer making her debut to round out the show’s 47th season. On May 21st, Natasha Lyonne will head to 30 Rock and make her SNL hosting debut. Starring in Netflix’s breakout hit Russian Doll, Lyonne will be joined by musical guest Japanese Breakfast, a band also making its Studio 8H debut.

The episode will serve as the Season 47 finale, giving the cast and crew of the live sketch comedy a months-long break before returning later this year.

In a New York Times profile on Michael Che earlier this month, longtime SNL producer Lorne Michaels suggested there would be some substantial change to the series after this season, but didn’t necessarily elaborate on what those changes would be. Che had said in the profile that he’s thought of leaving SNL for around five years now.

“My head has been at leaving for the past five seasons,” Che told the paper. “I do think that I’ve been here longer than I’ll be here. This show is built for younger voices and, at some point, there’ll be something more exciting to watch at the halfway mark of the show than me and dumb Jost.”

“If I had my way, he’ll be here,” Michaels added. “And I don’t always get my way. But when you have someone who’s the real thing, you want to hold on as long as you can.”

In an interview last year, Michaels said he wanted to stick with the show until its 50th season in 2024.

“You know, I think I’m committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” the producer told CBS Mornings last year. “I’d like to see that through, and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave. But … 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.”

Saturday Night Live is streaming in its entirety on Peacock.