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SNL season 51 premiered on October 4, 2025, following the show's record-breaking 50th anniversary celebration earlier in the year. The show, created by Lorne Michaels and directed by Liz Patrick, first premiered on October 11, 1975. The sketch comedy show will follow the weekly releases in its regular Saturday timeslot.
The season kicked off with Bad Bunny serving as the host with Doja Cat as the musical guest. Storylines are expected to include political satire ahead of the upcoming election and fresh takes on current events.
The SNL season 51 premiere saw Bunny deliver an opening monologue while addressing his acting debut and music career. Michaels serves as showrunner and executive producer, as he has since the show's inception (except for a brief period in the early 1980s).
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The returning cast includes longtime veterans Kenan Thompson, Weekend Update anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, and Marcello Hernández, among others. Several cast members will not be returning, including Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, and Emil Wakim.
Bad Bunny hosts his second SNL episode in SNL season 51 premiere
Bad Bunny made his return on SNL season 51 premiere, marking his second time as host and fourth overall appearance on the long-running sketch comedy show. The Grammy-winning artist demonstrated significant growth as a comedic performer since his first hosting gig in 2023. His debut on the show came as a musical guest in 2021.
During his monologue, Bad Bunny directly addressed the controversy surrounding his selection as the performer for the Super Bowl halftime show.
"I'm doing the Super Bowl halftime show. I'm very happy and I think everyone is happy about it. Even Fox News," the artist said.
He spoke briefly in Spanish about Latino representation, only switching to English for a pointed message to his critics.
Throughout the episode, Bad Bunny participated in several sketches, in typical SNL tradition, that showcased his natural comedic timing. That included Jeopardy With Bad Bunny, ChatGPTío, The Donor, KPop Demon Hunters, and a few others.
Also read: Why did Emil Wakim leave SNL after just one season?
SNL season 51 premiere’s guests included a Jon Hamm cameo and Doja Cat as the musical guest
SNL's season 51 premiere guests included Jon Hamm, who made a cameo alongside host Bad Bunny. For most of the episode, Hamm had been referenced as a fan of the Puerto Rican star, but things changed when Bad Bunny played a clip. It showed the Mad Men actor enthusiastically dancing at one of Bunny’s concerts in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
The actor was sporting a bucket hat and patterned shirt while grooving with a drink in hand, and Bunny made a few jokes about it. The cameras then panned to reveal Hamm sitting in the studio audience, mimicking his viral dance moves as the audience roared with laughter.
Bad Bunny playfully referred to Hamm as "Juan Jamon" during their interaction. Beyond that, audience and viewers were given a nice treat when EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna from Netflix's hit movie KPop Demon Hunters made a surprise appearance.
The trio was part of a brunch-themed sketch where Bad Bunny gushed about his love for the film. They also delivered their first-ever live performance of Golden, the hit song from the film.
The other major appearance was Doja Cat as musical guest, who made her series debut in the SNL season 51 premiere. The 29-year-old hitmaker delivered two standout performances, including her hit songs Aaahh Men and Gorgeous.
Interested viewers can watch SNL season 51 on NBC and Peacock.
