Bad Bunny appears on "Saturday Night Live" on May 17, 2025.

Live from New York, it's the first few hosts and musical guests for "Saturday Night Live" Season 51!

With the sketch show set to return for its new season in October, NBC has revealed the premiere on Oct. 4 will be hosted by Bad Bunny with musical guest Doja Cat. This will be Bad Bunny's second time hosting "SNL." He served as musical guest for host Scarlett Johansson in May's Season 50 finale, marking his third time performing on the show.

The following week, former "SNL" cast member Amy Poehler will return to the show as host, with musical guest Role Model.

Sabrina Carpenter will then perform double duties as host and musical guest for the Oct. 18 episode. This will mark Carpenter's "SNL" hosting debut, though she has appeared on the show several times. The "Man's Best Friend" singer was the musical guest during a 2024 episode hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal.

She also performed with Paul Simon during the "SNL" 50th anniversary special in February and made a cameo in a May episode hosted by Quinta Brunson.

The announcement comes amid continuing fallout to ABC's shocking decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's show following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission over comments the comedian made about the killing of Charlie Kirk and President Donald Trump's reaction to it. Trump has already started urging NBC, which airs "SNL," to cancel its late-night shows, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Kimmel's suspension followed CBS' controversial cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in July. The network cited financial pressures, but critics accused CBS of scrapping the show to appease Trump, of whom Colbert is a prominent critic.

In this context, all eyes will be on NBC's "SNL" and whether the new season will continue to call out the Trump administration as unsparingly as it has done in the past.

"SNL" will return in October after a cast shake-up between seasons that saw the departure of several stars, including some who have been with the show for years. Ego Nwodim most recently announced her exit after seven seasons, saying on Sept. 12, "The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight."

Heidi Gardner, who joined "SNL" in 2017, is also reportedly leaving the show, as are cast members Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow. "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels recently told Entertainment Tonight that while "it's always hard when people leave," change is "good" for the show. "And the people that we're bringing in, I'm really excited about," he added.

Comedians Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska have been added to the cast of "SNL" for Season 51.

'SNL' Season 51 schedule: When does the show return?

"SNL" is set to return with three straight weeks of episodes starting on Oct. 4, NBC said:

  • Oct. 4 – Bad Bunny / Doja Cat
  • Oct. 11 – Amy Poehler / Role Model
  • Oct. 18 – Sabrina Carpenter / Sabrina Carpenter

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'SNL' reveals first hosts and musical guests for Season 51 after cast shake-up

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect