New ‘SNL’ Not on Tonight, NBC Re-Airing Scarlett Johansson Episode Instead

This weekend was supposed to mark The Office star John Krasinski‘s return to comedy with a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, and “Don’t Start Now” singer Dua Lipa set to make her second appearance at Studio 8H. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show has been put on hold indefinitely. On Saturday night, NBC will instead air the Dec. 14, 2019 episode featuring host Scarlett Johansson and performer Niall Horan at 11:30 p.m. ET.

NBC announced Krasinski would host the March 28 SNL episode earlier this month. The episode would have aired after A Quiet Place Part II hit theaters. However, Paramount pulled the film from release days before it would open due to the pandemic. The film is a sequel to Krasinski’s sleeper horror hit A Quiet Place and stars the actor’s wife, Emily Blunt. Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounshou, Noah Jupe and Millicent Summonds also star. Paramount has not set a new release date for the sequel.

As for Lipa, the episode would have helped her raise awareness for her critically acclaimed second album, Future Nostalgia, which was released on Friday. The album includes the singles “Don’t Start Now,” “Physical” and “Break My Heart,” which she would have likely performed. In 2019, Lipa won the Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording for “Electricity.” She performed on Saturday Night Live in 2018, when Natalie Portman hosted.

The Krasinski episode was the only episode announced before NBC suspended production on SNL on March 16. The network has postponed at least the next three episodes. The series is filmed in New York, which has seen more coronavirus cases than anywhere else in the country so far.

NBCUniversal also suspended production on every show, including the Chicago shows, Law & Order: SVU and New Amsterdam.

“The safety and health of our cast, crew and employees is our top priority,” NBC Universal said in a statement. “Where possible, we are pausing production for two weeks as a precautionary measure, following which we will reassess and determine an appropriate start date. In some cases, we are accelerating plans to wrap up physical production.”

Johansson’s sixth time hosting Saturday Night Live included a handful of memorable sketches, including a pre-taped sketch parodying Marriage Story. In the new take on the Netflix movie, Johansson played a marriage counselor trying to help lawyer George Conway and Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway save their marriage. The cold open also parodied how difficult it was for Americans to avoid political discussions during the holiday season. Johansson’s monologue also included references to her engagement to “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost.

Photo credit: NBC