NBC Not Airing New ‘SNL’ Tonight, Showing Seth Meyers Episode Instead

Saturday Night Live is on hiatus for the holidays, which means that this weekend’s episode will be a rerun.

NBC is airing Season 44’s third episode this weekend in the absence of a new SNL telecast. The episode featured cast alum Seth Meyers as host, with musical guest Paul Simon. It was highly regarded by fans at the time, though it may still be a letdown for those that were hoping for a new episode as they settle in for the holidays.

The episode playing tonight first aired on Oct. 13. It came shortly after Kanye West met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, so the cold open featured Alec Baldwin playing the president while Chris Redd played West. Kenan Thompson played Jim Brown, adding a snarky straight man into the mix for one of the most-loved political skits of the season so far.

In terms of controversy, only one skit from this episode was really called into question — the “Thirsty Cops” skit featuring Leslie Jones, Ego Nwodim and Meyers. In it, Jones and Nwodim play police officers who use overt sexual innuendos to hit on Meyers’ character after pulling him over for a traffic violation.

The Baltimore Police union sent a Lorne Michaels about the skit, furious that the badges worn in specifically read “Baltimore” on them.

“It is a difficult time in Baltimore and to portray our brave, hard-working members with such an inappropriate manner is very unfortunate,” the letter read, according to a report by The Hill.

There are plenty of other gems in the episode to make it worth re-watching as well. Meyers took joined Michael Che and Colin Jost in his old seat on Weekend Update, and played a new cell mate for Bill Cosby, who was played by Thompson. There was also a digital short about the marketing of supplements to older men, and a music video for an environmental rap song by Pete Davidson and Redd.

For many people, the SNL rerun this week will be disappointing simply because they are hoping for an update on Davidson. The comedian posted a troubling, suicidal message on Instagram last Saturday and was subsequently cut from most of the show. His mental health is still in question following his split with Ariana Grande, and many fans are hoping to see him doing better soon.

According to a report by Page Six, Lorne Michaels took action after last weekend’s show, offering to send Davidson to a treatment center to get him whatever he needs.

As of now, insiders say that Davidson will most likely join the rest of the Saturday Night Live cast when the show returns for new episodes sometime in January.