NBC Not Airing New ‘SNL’ This Week

Saturday Night Live is still on its mid-season hiatus this week, meaning one more weekend without the lauded telecast.

SNL returns on Saturday, Jan. 19 for the first new episode of 2019. In the meantime, a re-run will air this Saturday to hold fans over. SNL did its best to put a positive spin on the prolonged wait with a GIF on Twitter. It showed cast member Cecily Strong in character as Rachel Brosnahan, the upcoming host, and Aid Bryant as the creator of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino.

The GIF — taken from last month’s skit “Oscar Host Auditions” — showed Strong with her arms folded, speaking quietly into a microphone. All of the sudden, Bryant side-stepped into the shot with an ecstatic expression, waving her hands excitedly. Strong was labeled “you” while Bryant was labeled “me reminding you that SNL comes back next week with host Rachel Brosnahan and musical guest Greta Van Fleet.”

Fans are dying for the show to return so that it can address some of the political drama currently plaguing the United States, presumably through a skit featuring Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump, and maybe other prominent guests. In the weeks since it has been away, the president has taken some drastic steps, some of which are perfect for SNL‘s over-the-top parody style.

In addition, many figures from the Trump administration’s past are resurfacing, leaving room for their SNL celebrity guest counter-parts to return as well. When the show finally comes back, we could easily see an appearance by Ben Stiller as Michael Cohen, Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump, Jimmy Fallon as Jared Kushner and/or Robert DeNiro as Robert Mueller.

The cast will undoubtedly reprise some of their best political roles as well. In all likelihood, next week we will see Kate McKinnon playing Rudy Giuliani and Cecily Strong as Melania Trump. We will probably also see Aidy Bryant as White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Beck Bennet as Vice President Mike Pence.

Of course, there is a full week for the news cycle to flip on its head before we get there, and SNL will have to rush to keep up. The show runs on a notoriously demanding production schedule, with cast members working non-stop during the season. If they are not back in the office already, they will be soon, writing, rehearsing and preparing for another massive show in just on week.

Saturday Night Live airs every weekend at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.