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‘SNL’ Books Massive Stars for Final Shows of Season

The iconic show follows its landmark 50th season with its most star-studded finale in years.

Saturday Night Live Season 51 is going out with a bang.

Days before Oscar nominee Colman Domingo is set to host on April 11, SNL announced the final three hosts and musical acts of the season.

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After the show takes a two-week hiatus to round out April, Grammy-winning popstar Olivia Rodrigo will do double duty as host and musical guest on May 2.

Her appearance comes ahead of her upcoming album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love, which will be released in June. She has previously been a musical guest on two occasions alongside hosts Keegan-Michael Key and Adam Driver.

On May 9, Oscar winner Matt Damon will return to host for a third time, with musical guest Noah Kahan, whose new album The Great Divide will be released on April 24.

Damon, 55, who stars in the upcoming The Odyssey, also helmed one of the show’s most memorable cold opens in which he portrayed a sniffling, brash Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination hearing in September 2018.

SNL‘s season finale on May 16 promises to be a special one, with iconic cast member Will Ferrell hosting alongside legendary musical guest Paul McCartney.

Ferrell, 58, was one of the show’s greatest cast members during his 1995–2002 stint and has hosted five times since. His sketches, including “More Cowbell,” “Get Off the Shed,” and “Celebrity Jeopardy,” are considered among the show’s best.

The former Beatles icon, 83, has never hosted the show but has performed as a musical guest five times and made numerous cameos, including SNL‘s 40th and 50th anniversary specials. McCartney’s appearance comes weeks before his new studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, releases on May 29.

Season 51 got off to a rocky start after it replaced a large batch of departing cast members, including Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim, as well as the breakup of short film group Please Don’t Destroy, who produced some of the previous seasons’ most-viewed sketches.

SNL‘s new cast has found its footing under the leadership of breakout Ashley Padilla, who commands attention for her grounded characters and outlandish physicality, which some have likened to Kristen Wiig.

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Owen Mason-HillEditorial intern, Obsessed

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