‘Saturday Night Live’ Season 48 Cast for ‘SNL’ 2022-23

The May 2022 finale turned out to be the end of the road for popular “Saturday Night Live” cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson. In September 2022, four more stars — Alex Moffat, Melissa Villasenor, Aristotle Athari and Chris Redd — left the program. Despite those eight departures, there are still 13 “SNL” returnees on the call sheet and all of them* returned to Studio 8H on October 1 for the 48th season premiere. (*The sole exception was Cecily Strong, who appeared in a stage play in Los Angeles and thus missed the first three episodes. She later said a final goodbye after the Christmas episode.)

In addition, four newbies joined the roster of Not Ready for Prime Time Players during the October 2022 premiere. Scroll through our photo gallery below to see the full “Saturday Night Live” Season 48 cast for “SNL” 2022-23. Brand new episodes of the late night sketch comedy series will air live coast-to-coast this season on Saturday evenings at 11:30 ET/ 10:30 CT/ 9:30 MT/ 8:30 PT. Darrell Hammond returns as full-time announcer and Lorne Michaels still serves as an executive producer.

• Kenan Thompson

  First year on “SNL”: 2003

  Number of seasons: 20

  NBC bio:

  Kenan Thompson recently completed his 19th season on “Saturday Night Live” as the show’s longest-running cast member.

  Thompson received two Emmy Award nominations in 2021 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his comedy series “Kenan” and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for “SNL.” Thompson previously received two Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2020 in the supporting actor category for his work on “SNL.” Thompson received an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2018 for the “SNL” song “Come Back, Barack,” and received a nomination in the same category in 2017 for co-writing “Last Christmas” from the popular “Jingle Barack” “SNL” music video.

  Thompson has made numerous contributions to “SNL” with his slew of hilarious impressions that include Rev. Al Sharpton, Charles Barkley, Steve Harvey and David Ortiz, and by playing memorable characters such as DJ Dynasty Handbag, the scathingly fierce co-host of “Deep House Dish,” “Weekend Update” correspondent Jean K. Jean, “Black Jeopardy” host Darnell Hayes and Diondre Cole, the disruptive singing talk show host on the wildly popular sketch “What Up With That.”

  He recently appeared in season two of HBO Max’s “That Damn Michael Che” and Prime Video’s “The Kids in the Hall.”

  For two seasons, Thompson executive produced and starred in the NBC comedy series “Kenan,” co-starring Don Johnson and Chris Redd. In 2019, Thompson served as producer and judge alongside Chrissy Teigen, Jeff Foxworthy and Amanda Seales on NBC’s comedy competition series “Bring the Funny.”

  A native of Atlanta, Thompson made his television debut as a member of Nickelodeon’s all-kid sketch comedy series “All That.” Thompson now serves as an executive producer on Nickelodeon’s 2019 “All That” reboot. He and Kel Mitchell debuted on the spinoff “Kenan and Kel” in 1996. Thompson also had a recurring role on the WB’s “Felicity.”

  His past projects include Paramount’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” Disney+’s “Home Sweet Home Alone,” Netflix’s Adam Sandler film “Hubie Halloween,” starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson in “Snakes on a Plane,” “Wieners” and “The Magic of Belle Isle” with Morgan Freeman. Other film credits include “Fat Albert,” “D2: The Mighty Ducks,” “Good Burger,” “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Brother Nature, “Heavyweights,” “My Boss’s Daughter,” “Barbershop 2,” “Going in Style” and “They Came Together.”

  Thompson showcased his voice talents as Bricklebaum in “The Grinch,” which made history as the #1 Christmas movie of all time. Thompson has also lent his voice to the animated films “Trolls World Tour,” “Wonder Park,” “The Smurfs,” “The Smurfs 2” and “Space Chimps,” the television series “Sit Down, Shut Up” and the Kobe Bryant/LeBron James Nike puppet campaign during the 2009 NBA playoffs. He was the voice of Austin “Impresario” Sullivan in the Hulu animated series “The Awesomes” and Riff in the film “Rock Dog.”

• Cecily Strong*

  *Strong only appeared in six episodes this season, as she missed the first three outings due to a stage play and the December 17 episode was her last ever.

  First year on “SNL”: 2012

  Number of seasons: 11

  NBC bio:

  Cecily Strong returns for her 10th season as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.”

  Strong received back-to-back Emmy Award nominations in 2020 and 2021 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on “SNL.” She has entertained viewers with her standout “Weekend Update” character Cathy Anne, Michael Che’s wacky chain-smoking neighbor who offers her opinions on current events. Her recurring character Gemma, a British “singer” with various boyfriends, also quickly became a fan favorite. She has earned rave reviews for her notable Judge Jeanine Pirro, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Melania Trump impressions. Strong has co-hosted “Weekend Update” alongside both Seth Meyers and Colin Jost.

  Strong recently starred on Apple TV+’s 2021 hit musical series, “Schmigadoon!,” on which she also serves as a producer. Her memoir, “This Will All Be Over Soon,” was released in 2021. Strong recently made her New York stage debut at the Shed in “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.”

  In Chicago, Strong improvised regularly at iO and served as an understudy for the Second City Main Stage and E.T.C. shows. She performed as a member of the Second City national touring company and has also appeared at the Chicago SketchFest, Chicago Just for Laughs, the New York Sketch Fest and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

  Strong has appeared in films “The Female Brain” and Paul Feig’s reboot of “Ghostbusters,” as well as Melissa McCarthy’s “The Boss,” “The Bronze” and “The Meddler.” Additionally, Strong headlined the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

  Strong was raised in Oak Park, Ill., and has a BFA in theater from the California Institute of the Arts.

• Colin Jost

  Weekend Update Anchor

  First year on “SNL”: 2014

  Number of seasons: 10

  NBC bio:

  Colin Jost serves as a head writer for “Saturday Night Live.” He started writing for “SNL” in 2005 and has been co-anchor of “Weekend Update” since 2014.

  Jost has won five Writers Guild Awards, two Peabody Awards and has been nominated for 12 Emmy Awards for his writing on “SNL.” Jost and Michael Che have hosted special editions of “Weekend Update” on MSNBC during the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions as well as the primetime “Weekend Update Summer Edition” in 2017. In 2018, they co-hosted the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

  In 2015, Jost wrote “Staten Island Summer,” a coming-of-age comedy that was released by Paramount Pictures and produced by Lorne Michaels. In 2016, he had a supporting role in the Warner Bros. film “How to Be Single.” Jost can be seen in the Paramount Pictures film, “Coming 2 America.” He also starred in the Warner Bros. live-action animation film “Tom and Jerry.” Jost is currently co-writing the untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film for Paramount Pictures, alongside his brother Casey Jost. He will next star in the wedding comedy “Worst Man” for Universal.

  As a writer, Jost has been published multiple times in The New Yorker and has contributed to the New York Times Magazine and the Huffington Post, among others.

  Last summer, Jost debuted his memoir, “A Very Punchable Face.” The memoir is a series of essays that documents pivotal moments in Jost’s life, including growing up in Staten Island in a family of firefighters, commuting three hours a day to high school, attending Harvard while Facebook was created and more. Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, “A Very Punchable Face” was published by Random House on July 14, 2020.

  Jost currently resides in New York.

• Michael Che

  Weekend Update Anchor

  First year on “SNL”: 2014

  Number of seasons: 9

  NBC bio:

  Named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Funniest People, Che is currently the co-anchor of “Weekend Update” alongside Colin Jost in addition to serving as one of the show’s head writers.

  His first hourlong comedy special, “Michael Che Matters,” was released in 2016 on Netflix. It hit #1 twice on the platform, first upon its initial release and then again in 2020. Che’s second hourlong Netflix special, “Michael Che: Shame the Devil,” was released in 2021.

  This spring Che debuted his own original HBO Max sketch comedy series, “That Damn Michael Che,” which Che stars in, wrote and executive produced. The show was recently picked up for a second season and will launch in 2022.

  Che has been nominated for multiple Emmys for his writing on “SNL.” In 2018, Che also co-hosted NBC’s live Emmy Awards telecast alongside Jost. He and Josh also hosted a number of special edition episodes of “Weekend Update” on MSNBC during the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions.

  Prior to his time on “SNL,” Che was a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and appeared alongside Chris Rock in the 2015 feature “Top Five.”

  When Che is not in front of the camera, he tours the world headlining live stand-up shows.

• Mikey Day

  First year on “SNL”: 2016

  Number of seasons: 7

  NBC bio:

  Mikey Day returns to “Saturday Night Live” for his sixth season as a cast member after joining the show as a writer in the 39th season.

  During his first season as a cast member, Day gained recognition for his wildly popular “Haunted Elevator (ft. David S. Pumpkins)” sketch with Tom Hanks as well as his Donald Trump Jr. impression.

  Day was a member of the Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles and a cast member on Nick Cannon’s MTV comedy series “Wild ‘N Out” for seven seasons. He was also a head writer on Cartoon Network’s “Incredible Crew,” co-head writer and cast member on NBC’s “Maya & Marty” and co-writer for the 2016 comedy “Brother Nature.” Alongside “SNL” writer Streeter Seidell, Day wrote “Home Sweet Home Alone.” The duo is currently writing the Disney reboots of “Inspector Gadget” and “Space Camp,” as well as “The Rugrats Movie” for Nickelodeon/Paramount.

  Most recently, Day can be seen in Amazon’s “Brittany Runs a Marathon, Universal’s Will Packer-produced comedy “Little,” opposite Issa Rae and Netflix’s Adam Sandler film “Hubie Halloween.”

• Heidi Gardner

  First year on “SNL”: 2017

  Number of seasons: 6

  NBC bio:

  Heidi Gardner returns to “Saturday Night Live” for her fifth season.

  Gardner has received praise for her hilarious original characters on “SNL,” including teen movie reviewer Bailey Gismert; Famous 80’s Cocaine Wife Carla; Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend; and John Michael Wozniak, a nice-guy stadium security guard who lost everything to Michael Jordan in the digital short “The Last Dance: Extended Scene.”

  Gardner comes from the Groundlings main company in Los Angeles. She is upcoming in “Hustle,” the sports drama with Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah. Gardne” appeared opposite Melissa McCarthy in the comedy feature “Life of the Party,” and is in the Netflix feature “Otherhood” with Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman.

  Gardner also guest-starred on the final season of HBO’s “Veep,” NBC’s “Superstore,” the “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” interactive-special on Netflix and appeared on the Comedy Central series “The Other Two,” from “SNL” writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider.”

  In animation, Gardner voiced Tuva Von Void in SYFY’s animated series “Alien News Desk,” and Cooch in the Crackle series “SuperMansion,” opposite Bryan Cranston. She is upcoming in the Netflix animated feature “Leo.”

  Gardner hails from Kansas City, Mo., and her birthday is July 27.

• Ego Nwodim

  First year on “SNL”: 2018

  Number of seasons: 5

  NBC bio:

  Ego Nwodim returns to “Saturday Night Live” for her fourth season as a cast member.

  Nwodim has entertained viewers with her standout impression of Dionne Warwick and roster of hilarious original characters.

  Nwodim graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in biology. She was a mainstay at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles and performed as a New Face at the 2016 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. She was featured in the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase and in 2017 wrote and performed her first ever one-woman show, “Great Black Women … and Then There’s Me,” for a sold-out run in Los Angeles.

  A 2019 Variety Comedy Impact honoree, Nwodim’s recent credits include “Shrill” for Hulu, IFC’s “Brockmire,” the independent films “The Broken Hearts Gallery” and “Spin Me Round” and can next be seen in the feature “Players” for Netflix.

  Nwodim joined the cast of the second season of HBO Max’s “Love Life.”

  She is from Baltimore and her birthday is March 10.

• Chloe Fineman

  First year on “SNL”: 2019

  Number of seasons: 4

  NBC bio:

  Chloe Fineman is currently in her third season as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.”

  Fineman entertained viewers with her standout impressions of Drew Barrymore, Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman and Timothée Chalamet. Her recurring character Ooli, an Icelandic social media star, also quickly became a fan favorite. In 2020, Glamour raved “Chloe Fineman Can Impersonate Anyone” and the Washington Post called Fineman “the comedian we need right now.” Her popular Instagram feed @chloeiscrazy has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Vulture. Fineman was also honored as part of Variety’s 2021 New York Women’s Impact Report.

  Fineman was a 2018 New Face at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival and a Sunday Company Member of the Groundlings Theater. Her TV credits include “Big Mouth,” “Dickinson,” “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens,” “High Fidelity” and “Search Party.” Fineman will next be seen in such films as Warner Bros.’ “Father of the Bride” remake, Paramount’s “Babylon,” “Home Team” and Netflix’s untitled Noah Baumbach project.

  Fineman graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is from Berkeley, Calif.

• Bowen Yang

  First year on “SNL”: 2019

  Number of seasons: 4

  NBC bio:

  Bowen Yang returns for his third season as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” after joining the show as a staff writer in season 44.

  Yang is a comedian, writer and actor based in New York. He has entertained viewers with his lineup of standout characters, including his fan favorite “Weekend Update” characters the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic and Fran Lebowitz. Yang received an Emmy Award nomination in 2021 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on “Saturday Night Live.”

  He is the co-host of the acclaimed podcast “Las Culturistas” and its live show, “I Don’t Think So Honey,” which has sold out multiple venues nationally and been featured on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Today.” Yang has appeared on HBO’s “High Maintenance,” Comedy Central’s “Broad City,” Peacock’s “Girls5eva” and the feature “Isn’t It Romantic.” He co-stars in the Comedy Central series “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,” and will next star in Fox Searchlight’s upcoming romantic comedy “Fire Island” and the film “The Lost City of D.” Yang is also a consulting producer on Apple TV+s “Schmigadoon!.”

  Yang is from Aurora, Colo., and his birthday is Nov. 6.

• Andrew Dismukes

  First year on “SNL”: 2020

  Number of seasons: 3

  NBC bio:

  Andrew Dismukes returns to “Saturday Night Live” for his second season as a cast member after starting on the show as a staff writer in season 43. Dismukes is a stand-up comedian and began performing standup at age 18 while attending the University of Texas at Austin where he received a B.S. in radio, television and film. He was selected for the New Faces Showcase at the Just for Laughs Festival in 2017 and has performed at several other festivals, including the Moontower Comedy Festival, Comedy Central’s Colossal ClusterFest and the New York Comedy Festival. Dismukes is from Port Neches, Texas and his birthday is June 21.

• Punkie Johnson

  First year on “SNL”: 2020

  Number of seasons: 3

  NBC bio:

  Punkie Johnson returns to “Saturday Night Live” for her second season. Johnson is a comedian and writer. Recent credits include “Space Force” (Netflix) and “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO). Johnson stars in the second season of HBO Max’s “Love Life.” Johnson is from New Orleans, La., and her birthday is April 29.

• James Austin Johnson

  First year on “SNL”: 2021

  Number of seasons: 2

  NBC bio:

  James Austin Johnson joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for his first season. Johnson is a comedian and actor whose past credits include roles on “Tuca & Bertie,” “Future Man,” “Adam Ruins Everything” and the film, “Hail Caesar.” He has performed in Los Angeles at Highland Park’s longest running comedy show, “Rod Stewart Live.” Johnson is from Nashville and his birthday is July 19.

• Sarah Sherman

  First year on “SNL”: 2021

  Number of seasons: 2

  NBC bio:

  Sarah Sherman joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for her first season. Sherman is a comedian and visual artist known for her traveling comedy show “Helltrap Nightmare.” She previously worked on “The Eric Andre Show” and opened for him on tour. Sherman is from Long Island and her birthday is March 7.

• Molly Kearney

  First year on “SNL”: 2022

  Number of seasons: 1

  NBC bio: TBA

• Michael Longfellow

  First year on “SNL”: 2022

  Number of seasons: 1

  NBC bio: TBA

• Marcello Hernandez

  First year on “SNL”: 2022

  Number of seasons: 1

  NBC bio: TBA

• Devon Walker

  First year on “SNL”: 2022

  Number of seasons: 1

  NBC bio: TBA

• Darrell Hammond

  Following the death of Don Pardo, former cast member Darrell Hammond took over as full-time announcer starting with Season 40. He sometimes appears on-camera as iconic political figures like Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.

• Lorne Michaels

  Lorne Michaels is a 21-time Emmy winner who has served as a producer of “Saturday Night Live” since the first season in 1975, though he temporarily left the show between 1980 and 1985.