Saturday Night Live: Shane Gillis to Guest Host After Firing

Shane Gillis will be serving as the guest host for Saturday Night Live later this month years after being fired from the cast. Gillis was initially announced to be a part of the Saturday Night Live cast back in 2019, but was fired a few days after the announcement due to a report noting resurfaced offensive remarks. He was fired from the show before joining as an official member of the cast, and has since gained notoriety with comedy specials released in the years since. Now Gillis is returning to Saturday Night Live not as a member of the cast, but as a guest host. 

Saturday Night Live Season 49 has officially announced that Shane Gillis will be the guest host for the February 24th episode of the series with 21 Savage as the musical guest. The controversial comedian will likely draw in many viewers who will hope to see him address the firing in some way, but it remains to be seen as to whether or not he will. With the confirmation that he will be a part of the series in just a couple of more weeks, there will be many eyes on Gillis for this debut. You can find the announcement below: 

Who is in the Saturday Night Live cast?

Cast members for Saturday Night Live season 49 include almost the entire cast from season 48 of SNL. Returning stars include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang. Featured players that are part of the cast include returning stars Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, plus the show’s only fully new cast member for the year, newcomer Chloe Troast. The comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy, made up of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, are also a recurring part of the series. 

New Saturday Night Live Hosts

With the SAG-AFTRA Strike still without a resolution, Saturday Night Live is unable to tap actors to host new episodes since previously they would only appear on the series to promote some new work (prohibited by the rules of the SAG-AFTRA strike). As a result comedians and musicians have been the only hosts confirmed for Saturday Night Live season 49 with Pete Davidson, Bad Bunny, and Nate Bargatze taking the spotlight for the first three episodes.

Saturday Night Live Season 49 is ongoing now with new episodes airing on both NBC and Peacock, starting Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET. All 48  seasons of Saturday Night Live are also now streaming on Peacock.