'SNL' Promotes Two Cast Members Ahead of Season 49
James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman have been promoted to Repertory Player from featured for Season 49.
With shows going back into production following the end of the writers' strike, Saturday Night Live is coming back bigger and better than before. The variety series is set to have its long-awaited Season 49 premiere on Saturday, Oct. 14. With a new cast member joining the family, two more have been promoted. TVLine reports that James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who made their debut during Season 47, have been upped to Repertory Player for the upcoming season.
This means that they have been added to the main cast ensemble rather than just being featured players on the series. Not only will their names come earlier in the opening credits, but they will be able to participate in much more sketches. The promotions come on the heels of Chloe Troast being added to the cast. She is the only new cast member for Season 49, but with Johnson and Sherman being promoted, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Johnson and Sherman join the full cast of returning cast members from the end of Season 48, including Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernández, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker, and Bown Yang. Cecily Strong departed SNL during Season 48. Before that, SNL saw several cast members leave, including Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney.
Speaking of Davidson, the Bupkis star will finally be hosting SNL, and it's going to be the season premiere. He was initially set to host during Season 48, but it was the week the writers' strike started, and the episode was canceled. Now he is returning to Studio 8H, and the wait will definitely be worth it. Ice Spice will be serving as musical guest. Season 49 will be kicking off in a big way, and these promotions are just the beginning.
It's going to be exciting to see just what all is planned for the highly-anticipated season premiere. Fans already know what James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman bring to the table. But what else they will bring now that they are full-fledged players will be something to look forward to. Fans will want to watch the Season 49 premiere of Saturday Night Live on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 11:30 p.m. ET only on NBC to see what happens.