Saturday Night Live guests: who are the hosts in January - and which musical guests will be playing?

Saturday Night Live is one of the most iconic comedy shows on TV.

First debuting in 1975, it has remained a fixture on the small screen for over 40 years. The cast has changed through the years, but it continues to be must watch event.

The show features a different host each week, including the likes of Hollywood stars, as well as a musical guest. During the programme, the audience will be treated to comedy sketch’s - often based on topical events and material.

An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show. But who will be the musical guest and host for Saturday (21 January).

Here is all you need to know:

Who will be the host for the next episode?

White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza will be making her hosting debut with Saturday Night Live on 21 January. She will be followed the week later by Black Panther and Creed star Michael B. Jordan.

Who will be the musical guests in January?

Sam Smith will be the first musical guest of 2023, they will appear alongside Aubrey Plaza on 21 January. Writing on an Instagram story, Smith said they were “honoured” to be performing on SNL again.

They made their musical debut on the show in 2014, performing their hit songs Stay With Me and Lay Me Down. Reacting to the news on social media, Smith wrote on their Instagram story: “Honoured to be performing on this special stage again. Get ready for some fun x.”

It comes one month after Smith appeared alongside Cyndi Lauper for a special performance at the White House, to help celebrate the signing of a federal law protecting the rights of same-sex and interracial couples.

Announcements about the first two SNL shows of 2023 were made on Thursday (5 January) night on social media. Lil Baby will be the musical guest on 28 January.

Who is in the cast of Saturday Night Live?

The cast of the hit series has changed a lot through the years, with the original cast including Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase. The cast for the 2022/23 series has been announced - it is as follows:

Repertory players

• Michael Che (joined 2014)ⱡ
• Mikey Day (joined 2016)
• Andrew Dismukes (joined 2020)
• Chloe Fineman (joined 2019)
• Heidi Gardner (joined 2017)
• Punkie Johnson (joined 2020)
• Colin Jost (joined 2014)ⱡ
• Ego Nwodim (joined 2018)
• Cecily Strong (joined 2012)
• Kenan Thompson (joined 2003)
• Bowen Yang (joined 2019)

Featured players

• Marcello Hernandez (joined 2022)
• James Austin Johnson (joined 2021)
• Molly Kearney (joined 2022)
• Michael Longfellow (joined 2022)
• Sarah Sherman (joined 2021)
• Devon Walker (joined 2022)

How to watch Saturday Night Live?

SNL, as it is popularly referred to, has been broadcast on NBC since it launched in 1975. The latest episodes in January 2023 will air in the usual time slot on NBC.

It will also be available to watch on NBC’s streaming service Peacock, which is the only platform that lets you stream the current season as well as every other season of Saturday Night Live all the way back to 1975.