Saturday Night Live Wiki
Register
Advertisement
How's it hanging? I'm David Pumpkins and I'm going to scare the hell out of you!.
—Tom Hanks as David S. Pumpkins

Season 42 of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 1, 2016, with host Margot Robbie and musical guest The Weeknd and concluded on May 20, 2017, with host Dwayne Johnson and musical guest Katy Perry, ending with 21 episodes and 3 specials. The season reduced ads by 30%, removing two commercial breaks to increase episode content. Much of the season's content centered around the 2016 Presidential Election. The season was also notable for having three episodes in which the hosts joining the Five-Timers Club, with Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy, and Dwayne Johnson all hosting for the fifth time.

Beginning on the April 15th Episode, episodes began to air live in all four time zones, rather than running live in the East and Central time zones, while being tape-delayed in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.[1]

Prior to the start of the season, longtime cast members Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah had both left the show after six years, as well as featured player Jon Rudnitsky, was released from the cast.[2] Killam, despite having signed a seven-year contract that would have taken him to the end of this season, was dropped from the cast due in part to issues concerning his work directing the film Killing Gunther, which would have limited his time on the show.[7] Following Killam, Pharoah, and Rudnitsky's departures, the show added three new featured players: Mikey Day (promoted from the writers' room), Chicago improviser Alex Moffat, and stand-up comedian and impressionist Melissa Villaseñor.[3] Michael Che, Pete Davidson, and Leslie Jones were all promoted to repertory status.

Though not a member of the cast, it was announced on September 28, 2016, that Alec Baldwin began a continuous cameo as Donald Trump, taking over from longtime former cast member Darrell Hammond, who continued as the show's announcer.[4]

This was the final season for cast members Bobby Moynihan,[5] Vanessa Bayer, and Sasheer Zamata. Moynihan had been on for nine seasons since 2008, Bayer had been on the show for seven seasons since 2010, and Zamata had been on the show for four seasons since 2014.[14]

Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider were the head writers for this season.

Kent Sublette became the sole writing supervisor, and then joined the head writing staff, starting in the second-half of the season, and Tara Donnelly became the lead graphic artist.

Season 7 cast member Tony Rosato died on January 7, 2017, due to a heart attack. The season also acknowledged the deaths of NBC-Universal Employee John Homer, actress Carrie Fisher, and comedian Don Rickles.

Cast[]

Changes[]

   Not Returning
    Added
   Upgraded To Repertory Players

Repertory Players[]

Portal 40 - Vanessa Bayer  Portal 40 - Beck Bennett  Portal 40 - Aidy Bryant 

Portal 40 - Michael Che  Portal 40 - Pete Davidson  LeJo1 

Portal 40 - Colin Jost  Portal 40 - Kate McKinnon  Portal 40 - Kyle Mooney 

Portal 40 - Bobby Moynihan  Portal 40 - Cecily Strong  Portal 40 - Kenan Thompson 

Portal 40 - Sasheer Zamata 

Featured Players[]

Mikey-day-s42  Alex-moffat-s42 Melissa-villasenor-s42

Episodes[]

Episode Image Host Musical
guest
October 1, 2016 Robbie-s41 Margot Robbie The Weeknd
October 8, 2016 Miranda-s42 Lin-Manuel Miranda Twenty One Pilots
October 15, 2016 Emily-blunt-bumper-s42 Emily Blunt Bruno Mars
October 22, 2016 Tom-hanks-bumper-10-22-16 Tom Hanks Lady Gaga
November 5, 2016 Cumberbatch-s42 Benedict Cumberbatch Solange
November 12, 2016 Chapelle-s42 Dave Chappelle A Tribe Called Quest
November 19, 2016 Wiig-s42 Kristen Wiig The xx
December 3, 2016 Stone-s42 Emma Stone Shawn Mendes
December 10, 2016 Cena-s42 John Cena Maren Morris
December 17, 2016 Affleck-s42 Casey Affleck Chance The Rapper
January 14, 2017 Jones-s42 Felicity Jones Sturgill Simpson
January 21, 2017 Ansari-s2 Aziz Ansari Big Sean
February 4, 2017 Stewart-s42 Kristen Stewart Alessia Cara
February 11, 2017 Baldwin-s42 Alec Baldwin Ed Sheeran
March 4, 2017 Spencer-s42 Octavia Spencer Father John Misty
March 11, 2017 Johansson-s42 Scarlett Johansson Lorde
April 8, 2017 Ck-s42 Louis C.K. The Chainsmokers
April 15, 2017 Fallon-s42 Jimmy Fallon Harry Styles
May 6, 2017 Pine-s42 Chris Pine LCD Soundsystem
May 13, 2017 Mccarthy-s42 Melissa McCarthy HAIM
May 20, 2017 Johnson-s42 Dwayne Johnson Katy Perry

Specials[]

Title Original Air Date Ratings/Share
The 2016 SNL Election Special November 7, 2016 2.1/7
Recent political sketches involving the 2016 US presidential election, hosted by Tom Brokaw.
Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving November 23, 2016 1.6/5
Thanksgiving-themed comedy from the Saturday Night Live crew is presented.
Saturday Night Live Christmas December 14, 2016 1.6/5
Holiday-themed comedy from Saturday Night Live is presented.

Deaths[]

References[]

Navigation[]

Preceded by:
Season 41
Season 42
(2016— 2017)
Followed by:
Season 43
Seasons
 
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
26272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
Advertisement