SNL

Dave Chappelle had perhaps one of the hardest SNL gigs in recent memory, to follow the still-stunning upset of Election Night with humor. His monologue in particular set a tone for soldiering onward, for which Chappelle now offers new insight into the SNL writers’ room that week, and the advice Louis C.K. gave him.

If perhaps SNL seemed to be sleeping on the job with its two-hosts-per-month in 2017, they had good reason. Not only have the final four hosts been announced, including Jimmy Fallon, Melissa McCarthy and The Rock, but shows will air live across the country for the first time in history.

The rumors are true: SNL is taking Weekend Update out for a primetime spin once more. Seeing as today’s news is never not in need of incisive comedy, Colin Jost and Michael Che will end their summer breaks early to bring new half-hour Weekend Update episodes to NBC.

SNL has been piecemealing through 2017 with two shows a month, and our first April show is now confirmed to follow Scarlett Johansson. Comedian Louis C.K. will return to SNL for the first April 2017 show, joined by a first-time musical guest.

In the election’s immediate aftermath, we had to wonder if Alec Baldwin had the SNL commitment to keep playing Trump as necessary for such a weekly target. Baldwin’s been a sport since November, even pivoting the impression into other mediums, but may hang up the wig before long . “I don’t [know] how much more people can take it.”

It’s about that time of the season when SNL starts sketching out its final weeks, and with it tends to come a bit of turnover. Speculation most frequently points to senior cast member Kenan Thompson, but a new CBS pilot suggests that Bobby Moynihan may actually leave Studio 8H after Season 42.

It wasn’t terribly long ago we learned Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression would expand from SNL to “other venues,” but where Will Ferrell’s “W.” went to Broadway, Baldwin is going to print. He and Kurt Andersen will develop a satirical memoir of Trump’s “Really Tremendous” first 100 days, with Baldwin reading the audiobook.

SNL didn’t quite have its ducks in a row with the announcement that Hidden Figures star Octavia Spencer would lead the first March show; lacking a musical guest to accompany. Now, not only has NBC filled out the March 4 dance card, but so too will Scarlett Johannson make a return appearance the following week.

If Alec Baldwin was going to make a full-time SNL return, it’d make sense that 30 Rock co-star and SNL alum Tracy Morgan might not be far behind. See for yourself, as Morgan returns to his SNL stomping grounds as one of Beyonce’s unborn twins.

The ongoing saga of SNL’s antagonistic relationship with the Trump administration yielded some strange results last week, as Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer impression reportedly upset the tweeter-in-chief by casting a woman in a male role. The internet was quick to yield additional suggestions for female stars to play male Trump staff, including his longtime target Rosie O’Donnell, though SNL apparently declined.