Why ‘SNL’ Wasn’t on Last Night, March 6

After streak of fresh episodes, Saturday Night Live is amidst a hiatus. There was no new episode of SNL last night, March 6. SNL’s next new episode airs March 27 and will feature former cast member Maya Rudolph as the host. Instead of airing a new episode on Saturday night, the show aired a repeat of the Dec. 19 episode that was hosted by Kristen Wiig (which NBC viewers could have checked out using FuboTV with a free trial.)

SNL traditionally goes on a hiatus after airing several new episodes during the course of the season. After a long hiatus over the holidays, the NBC sketch comedy series returned on Jan. 30 with a brand-new episode hosted by John Krasinski. The show would go on to air four more new episodes in succession, with hosts Dan Levy, Regina King, Regé-Jean Page, and Nick Jonas. As a result, the show will now go on a brief hiatus and will return at the end of March.

The current season of SNL, Season 46, has actually featured fewer breaks in between new episodes than usual. At the beginning of the season, the show aired six new episodes in a row in order to feature sketches related to the 2020 presidential election. According to Deadline, prior to this season, SNL had never aired five new episodes in a row, let alone six. Before the season premiered, SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels spoke to New York Times about the show. Not only did he address how they’re making things work amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but he also shared his own uncertainty as to whether SNL could produce so many new episodes in a row.

“We don’t know that we’re going to be able to pull it off,” Michaels told the NYT. “We’re going to be as surprised as everyone else when it actually goes on.” Just as he said, fans were surprised to hear that SNL would be airing six episodes in a row. But, they were indeed able to pull it off. Season 46 of the sketch comedy series premiered on Oct. 3 with Chris Rock at the helm. Bill Burr, Issa Rae, Adele, John Mulaney, and Dave Chappelle would go on to host the subsequent five episodes.