SNL reveals season 50 cast with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris

Three cast members who left show during summer have been replaced

Saturday Night Live will premiere its 50th season with a re-assembled lineup of familiar faces, plus three new cast members.

In a teaser video for the new season premiering on 28 September, host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll are joined by cast member Marcello Hernández to mark the milestone anniversary.

Clues suggest Maya Rudolph may be performing a sketch as presidential candidateKamala Harris as she appeared in the teaser clip wearing a smart light-pink blouse when she uncontrollably breaks into a very broad Southern accent, which could be a possible reference to memes referring to Kamala Harris’ accent at certain rallies.

SNL fans have begged for Rudolph’s return since President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris to replace him in the 2024 presidential race against Donald Trump.

It’s already been confirmed that Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning take on the VP as the programme anticipates covering the 2024 Presidential campaign. Following the 2020 election, Rudolph has played Harris several times including during her March 2021 hosting stint, which earnt her another Guest Actress In a Comedy Series Emmy

However, this year’s season will be without some much-loved comics who left the show over the summer. Punkie Johnson announced in August she would be leaving the show after four years, while Molly Kearney announced their departure after two seasons the following day. Earlier this month, it was announced Chloe Troast would also not return after one season as a featured player.

Musical guest Jelly Roll, host Jean Smart and Marcello Hernández will introduce the 50th anniversary episode (NBC)

Johnson, who joined the show in 2020, called SNL “a dream I didn’t even know that I could achieve” and said she was “a part of one of the most elite institutions in comedy.” She also added there was “no bad blood” in her departure.

Kearney, who uses they/them pronouns and made history as the first nonbinary cast member in the sketch show’s history when they were hired in 2022, said working on the show was a “dream come true”.

Molly Kearney will not be returning for the 50th season of SNL (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for American Museum of Natural History)

The trio who left during the summer will be replaced by new cast members including Curb Your Enthusiasm star Ashley Padilla, stand-up comedian Emil Wakim and TikTok comedian Jane Wickline.

Many things will resume as normal, with Colin Jost back for another season of hosting “Weekend Update”, which he’s worked on since 2014. He will be joined again by his regular co-anchor Michael Che.

Other returning players include Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, James Austin Johnson, Andrew Dismukes, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.

Forthcoming episodes will feature host Nate Bargatze with musical guest Coldplay, Ariana Grande with Stevie Nicks, Michael Keaton with Billie Eilish, and John Mulaney with Chappell Roan.

Season 50 premieres on September 28, with episodes airing on NBC at 11:30pm ET on Saturdays.