SNL

It was back in August we first learned that NBC would experiment with a few Snapchat additions to its most viral shows, and you’ve had at least four months to figure out what that means. Nonetheless, SNL is venturing into Snapchat content with its new Boycott series, as cast members try to get away from the Trump brand.

Alec Baldwin’s been a regular presence at SNL this season, but surely his seventeenth official hosting turn is a big deal, right? Well, maybe not, judging by the reigning Trump impersonator’s promos, which see Baldwin revisiting his SNL past.

It made sense of SNL stars Colin Jost and Michael Che to take Weekend Update out on the road for the election conventions, but now that we have a longer investment in political commentary, is it time to spin off the bit altogether? That’s the word on the street, as NBC is reportedly considering a primetime Weekend Update.

SNL is no stranger to the current White House’s disdain for Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression (probably why we’re seeing it more and more), though the series trotted out another unexpected addition over the weekend with Melissa McCarthy’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Thankfully, the real Spicer is a much better sport about it than his boss.

After a small intermission that followed Aziz Ansari, SNL is back and ready for its big February encore. As such, host Kristen Stewart and star Beck Bennett workshop their musical in this Saturday’s first promos. They’ve even got three whole words down!

Last week, SNL writer Kate Rich shared a tasteless joke on social media; within hours, the writer was suspended indefinitely (fired). What makes this case different from prior controversies involving the show’s writers and performers? Rich is a woman, and on SNL (as in many real life circumstances), women are not afforded the opportunity to screw up

SNL writers understandably channel their feelings toward Donald Trump into comedy on a weekly basis, but aren’t immune to crossing lines. NBC seems to agree, as a writer has been given an indefinite suspension for a tweet about Trump’s son Barron.

Ed Sheeran will serve as the evening's musical guest.

It seemed perhaps a little odd that Alec Baldwin’s Trump was nowhere to be found on the first post-inauguration SNL, but Baldwin is more than making up for it. SNL has officially booked a record-setting return for Baldwin as host, and Trump Twitter is officially on notice.

One day after the presidential inauguration, SNL host Aziz Ansari followed Dave Chappelle’s example to deliver a thoughtful and ultimately optimistic monologue about America’s future, but it wasn’t the night’s only news. Kristen Stewart has signed on as 2017’s third SNL host, due in early February.