Live from ... home ... it's Saturday night!
Saturday Night Live is returning with a new episode this weekend after going off the air amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, NBC announced on Thursday.
This episode will be produced remotely, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, it won't have a host. The show's official Twitter account provided a preview, showing the cast assembled on what looks like a rare Zoom call that's actually entertaining.
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In recent weeks, late night shows that suspended production due to the coronavirus pandemic have managed to come back with their hosts delivering monologues from home, though a live sketch show with a full cast of performers will naturally be more challenging to replicate remotely.
Details on exactly how this will be pulled off haven't been revealed, and NBC News notes it's not actually clear if the episode will be live. It will reportedly feature Weekend Update in addition to some other unspecified content that will surely require some creativity given the limitations; at least one sketch parodying our newfound reliance on Zoom and other video conference technology is surely in the cards, though. It's also not clear whether SNL will now return on a weekly basis, as at the moment, this is "considered a one-off," the Reporter says.
Either way, expect to get to know SNL cast members' homes pretty well when the show returns on April 11.
