New ‘SNL’ Not on Tonight, NBC Re-Airing J.J. Watt Episode Instead

Saturday Night Live is a repeat again this weekend, and will be off the air for the foreseeable future. In place of a new episode, NBC is re-airing the Feb. 1 episode featuring Houston Texans star J.J. Watt and country singer Luke Combs Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET. The series originally planned to come back with a new episode on March 28, but those plans have been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Watt’s episode gave the football star a chance to show off some comedy skills on live television. The episode included a Frozen 2 parody, in which he played Kristoff, and a parody of The Bachelor in which he played a “pilot hunk” similar to Peter Weber. Watt also starred in the pre-taped “Robbie” sketch, which parodied the football movie Rudy. In one of the highlights from the episode, he recorded voices for Madden 21, using a script with dialogue he definitely would not usually say on the field.

The episode also featured two performances from Combs. He performed his hits “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and “Lovin’ On You.”

Saturday Night Live‘s March break was originally planned to be only two weeks, as the March 28 episode was slated to be hosted by A Quiet Place Part II actor and director John Krasinski, with performances from Dua Lipa. Paramount pulled the A Quiet Place sequel from theaters just before it was set to be released due to the coronavirus outbreak though, and has yet to schedule its release.

Earlier this week, Variety reported at least the next three SNL shows would be delayed due to the pandemic. Rather than try to film the show in front of an empty audience at Studio 8H, which would be bizarre, NBC opted to just put production on hold.

Of course, SNL is not the only show impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, NBCUniversal announced production on all its shows would be put on hold, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the Chicago shows, The Kelly Clarkson Show, New Amsterdam and almost 30 others.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a stay-at-home order. Starting Sunday at 8 p.m., 100 percent of New Yorkers who do not work in essential services will have to stay home. All non-essential gatherings were also banned and Department of Motor Vehicles offices were temporarily closed.

During a press conference Saturday morning in Albany, Cuomo said the number of cases in the state skyrocketed to over 10,000. Over 7,500 people in New York City have tested positive for coronavirus. He also warned younger New Yorkers that they need to heed the warnings as well, after photos showed city parks packed on Friday.

“You’re not Superman and you’re not superwoman,” Cuomo said, reports the New York Daily News. You can get this virus. And you can transfer the virus. And you can wind up hurting someone who you love or hurting someone wholly inadvertently.”

“You need social distancing everywhere,” he continued. “There’s a significant amount of noncompliance, especially in New York City, especially in the parks. It has to be stopped.”

Photo credit: NBC