On Saturday, September 26, Season 52 of Saturday Night Live kicked off. The cast is off “summer break”, and from now until May 2027, you’ll be able to wrap up your Saturdays on the couch with a new episode every week (or you can stream them after they air on Peacock).
This season, two new cast members have been introduced: Grace Reiter and Saidah Belo-Asagie. I am familiar with both of their work online, and upon seeing the Instagram post announcing they would be joining the cast this season, I was absolutely overjoyed.
Grace Reiter is an actress, content creator, and comedian, and most may recognize her for her work in creating and starring in her “Hunger Games (but better) – A Parody” video on YouTube. This video included many other popular content creators and comedians in her circle, who are also involved in the comedy group, American High Shorts. The group creates short-form content videos that are centered on relatable moments or scenarios that many people may have encountered throughout their high school and college experiences. Beyond the work she does with other comedians and friends, Reiter has a solid fanbase of her own. Reiter’s posts on Instagram and other forms of social media have drawn in nearly 5.4 million followers across her major platforms. On Instagram and TikTok specifically, she creates skits that typically have a specific “character” she is portraying, or poking fun at awkward moments/settings many have faced. As someone who has been a fan of Reiter for years now, I am incredibly excited to see what she will do on SNL, and could not be happier that she is already being recognized for her immense talent.
Saidah Belo-Asagie’s career started as being behind the camera, specifically focusing on filmmaking, directing, and producing. She worked as a writer and director for the short film Tinge (2020), and was a director’s assistant for the Netflix drama series Kaleidoscope (2023). However, in recent years, she has shifted her focus to stand-up comedy and creating short-form content online. You may recognize her from some of her popular skits she has posted on Instagram that focus on satirizing New York City archetypes. Alongside her social media posts, Belo-Osagie also created the solo show, Saidah Gets Closure. Through her work in various aspects of media, content creation, and comedy, she has amassed over 100,000 followers across her social media accounts. Given her history, it’s clear that Belo-Osagie is a solid fit for being an SNL cast member for this upcoming season, and I’m very excited to see what she will accomplish on the show.
While two new cast members have been added for this season, two are departing as they arrive. Chloe Fineman and Martin Herlihy will no longer be a part of the SNL cast, in order to make time for other projects that have. Fineman is most widely recognized for her sketches in which she does a celebrity impression, such as “The Understudy” and “Wicked Auditions.” Herlihy is known for being a member of comedy trio “Please Don’t Destroy,” alongside Ben Marshall and John Higgins.
Two other shifts were made regarding the current cast: Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline have been promoted to be repertory players, meaning they have been recognized as being established regular members who will now become the core of most sketches. The decision to promote each of them is something that I believe will have strong positive impacts on the show, considering how hilarious and talented each of them is. My personal favorite sketches involving Padilla are “Mom Confession” and “Passing Notes.” As for Wickline, my favorites have to be “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together,” or anytime she stars on “Weekend Update.” I am truly so excited for this opportunity that both of them have been given, as they are my favorite SNL cast members as of right now, and I can’t wait to see what this season has in store for them.
Saturday Night Live is ever-evolving, and learning more about the new cast members and the promotions that have been made has made me very excited to watch this upcoming season. Looking ahead to this weekend, the show will feature actress Dakota Johnson as the host, making this her third time on the show, and band Turnstile as the musical guest, which will be their SNL debut. This lineup will certainly make for an exciting show, and I cannot wait to tune in.