SNL Season 52 Adds Two Featured Players After Chloe Fineman Exit

Saturday Night Live opened its 52nd season on September 26 with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson as host and KATSEYE as musical guest, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, made his SNL debut alongside the girl group, with only four of KATSEYE's six members expected to perform, Billboard reported.

The premiere also introduced the season's two new featured players, Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter, whose hirings were confirmed by NBC on September 16, USA Today reported. Belo-Osagie, 29, is a comedian from Queens whose past work includes the short film "Tinge" and the event series "Afrobeats Futura," while Reiter, 25, hails from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and appeared on Tim Robinson's HBO series "The Chair Company," according to E! News and USA Today.

Their additions follow the departure of Chloe Fineman, who announced in July that she was leaving after seven seasons. Fineman wrote on Instagram that it was "time for my next chapter," and later told The Hollywood Reporter that her contract ended just as the opportunity to join the Netflix series Myron Bolitar came her way. Writer and Please Don't Destroy star Martin Herlihy also exited the show, according to USA Today.

The rest of the cast remains largely intact. Returning repertory players include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman, and Kenan Thompson, now in his 23rd season, E! News reported. Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline have been elevated to repertory players, while Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska, and Ben Marshall return for their sophomore years as featured players.

Brunson Brings Knicks Teammates to Studio 8H

Brunson's monologue leaned into his championship summer, joking that he would approach hosting the same way he approached the Knicks' finals run. "Tonight I'm gonna approach hosting in the same way I approach the Knicks finals game; so the first three quarters of the show are gonna be god awful. The last sketch is gonna be amazing," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He also referenced Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding at Madison Square Garden, and confirmed to teammate Josh Hart that he took a $113 million pay cut to re-sign with the Knicks.

The Knicks' starting five, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges, were in attendance, The Hollywood Reporter said. The cold open featured Ramy Youssef as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and James Austin Johnson as President Donald Trump, with the sketch revolving around a fictional visit during a nor'easter.

Next week, Dakota Johnson will host with Turnstile as musical guest. Shane Gillis will host on October 10 with Rosalía, and Inde Navarrette will host the Halloween episode with Gracie Abrams, according to The Hollywood Reporter.