On October 18th, Saturday Night Live began its 49th season. The season kicked off with Pete Davidson hosting and Ice Spice as a musical guest. Pete Davidson was originally set to host late last season, but the season was cut short due to the writer’s strike that began at the start of May. He ranks as the 5th fastest cast member to come back to host after their departure from the show. 

The break between season 47 and season 48 last year saw 8 key cast members leave the show, with one more leaving mid-season. The writer’s strike brought up worries of more departures, but all of the cast members came back. Chloe Troast was the sole “featured player” added to the cast while James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman were promoted to “repertory players”, meaning they are on the main cast. The creators of Please Don’t Destroy were also added to the opening credits after their digital shorts became a staple of the show last season. Colin Jost and Michael Che began their 9th season behind the Weekend Update desk, continuing to be the longest running Weekend Update hosts in the show’s history. 

The episode began with a heartfelt cold open from Pete Davidson, discussing the attacks in Israel and Palestine. He told the audience of his experience losing his dad in the 9/11 attacks when he was 7 years old, expressing his hopes for peace for children across the world. After the cold open and Davidson’s opening monologue, the show had 8 skits with “Fox NFL Sunday” and “I’m Just Pete” being standouts. Please Don’t Destroy returned with a digital short called, “The Original Princes of Comedy.” Ice Spice made two appearances, performing her hit song “In Ha Mood” for her first performance and her new single “Pretty Girl” with Rema for her second. Travis Kelce made a surprise appearance at the end of “Fox NFL Sunday”, with Taylor Swift doing the same to reintroduce Ice Spice for her second performance. This was the couple’s first official appearance together, as relationship rumors have been taking the media by storm over the past month. 

SNL sets up for a promising season with a strong first episode. Bad Bunny is set to pull “double duty” on the 21st, meaning he will be the host and the musical guest. This will be his first time hosting and second time as a musical guest. Comedian Nate Bargatze is hosting for the first time the following week, with musical guest Foo Fighters performing for the 9th time on the show.