Live from New York, it’s Saturday night! Season 48 of Saturday Night Live premiered on Oct. 1, and show runner Lorne Michaels has yet to disappoint with his choice of show hosts and musical guests. This week, Aubrey Plaza makes her debut alongside returning musical guest Sam Smith!
To kick off this season, Top Gun: Maverick actor Miles Teller, 35, hosted the Oct. 1 episode with Kendrick Lamar as the musical guest. “It’s really exciting. You’re working with the absolute best of the best, so you feel well taken care of, but it is, it’s a lot. It’s a whirlwind,” Miles told NBC4 ahead of his big debut, according to a report on www.hollywoodlife.com.
This season of SNL comes after a handful of cast members announced their departures from the show. Cast members Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, and featured player Aristotle Athari exited after Season 47, along with Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, and Pete Davidson. Chris Redd also confirmed to PEOPLE that he was saying goodbye to the show on Sept. 20.
Saturday Night Live will welcome Aubrey Plaza for the first time on Saturday, Jan. 21. The appearance is hot off her buzzy season of The White Lotus, where she played lawyer Harper who vacations in Sicily with on-screen husband Ethan (Will Sharpe), and their couple friends: Theo James‘ Cameron and Meghann Fahy‘s Daphne. The 38-year-old also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Aubrey kept her signature dead pan vibe in a promo alongside Sam and SNL‘s Kenan Thompson that popped up on social media earlier this week. “We love you in The White Lotus,” Kenan said to Aubrey, as Sam chimed in that she was “brilliant in Emily The Criminal.” Kenan then interjected with a show she wasn’t in: “And you were great in Wednesday!” Aubrey quickly corrected him, however, as Kenan drew a comparison to the actress and Jenna Ortega. “Because it seems like…” he trailed off, as Aubrey seemingly agreed the two have a similar vibe.
“I know,” Aubrey then said, telling Kenan that she could not do the infamous Wednesday dance!