Jalen Brunson, who is still riding high after carrying the New York Knicks to the team’s first N.B.A. championship in more than a half-century, is about to reach another major New York milestone: hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
The point guard who was named most valuable player of this year’s N.B.A. finals — and nicknamed “the king of New York” — will host the first episode of Season 52 of the long-running sketch show on Sept. 26, NBC announced.
Katseye, the Grammy-nominated pop girl group, will be the musical guest.
The week after Brunson hosts, the actress Dakota Johnson will return to lead the show, the same weekend her romantic thriller “Verity” hits theaters. It will be Johnson’s third time hosting, after episodes in 2015 and 2024. The rock band Turnstile will be the musical guest.
On Oct. 10, the comedian Shane Gillis will also host for the third time. Gillis was abruptly fired from “S.N.L.” in 2019, just after being named to the cast, when offensive comments he’d made surfaced, but he returned in 2024 and 2025 as host. Rosalía, fresh off her Lux Tour, will perform, her second time as the show’s musical guest.
On Halloween, “S.N.L.” will return from a short break with Inde Navarrette, the breakout star of the blockbuster horror smash “Obsession,” as the host. Gracie Abrams will perform.
The new season will be missing at least one star. In July, after seven seasons with “S.N.L.,” Chloe Fineman announced she would leave the show. Fineman had become known for her impressions of Drew Barrymore, Melania Trump, Timothée Chalamet and Britney Spears.
On Wednesday, Variety reported that Martin Herlihy, a member of the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy, would be departing the show ahead of the new season. Herlihy was a writer who occasionally appeared in sketches.
“S.N.L.” saw sizable changes ahead of Season 51, with five cast members, including the stalwarts Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim, departing, and five new people joining the show. A longtime favorite of the show, Bowen Yang, left in the middle of the season.
Any additional news about cast turnover for the new season is likely to be announced soon.
The post Jalen Brunson Will Host the ‘S.N.L.’ Season Opener appeared first on New York Times.
