Pete Davidson returns to Saturday Night Live to host season 49 premiere

The former series regular was originally scheduled to make his ‘SNL’ comeback in the spring before the season was cut short by the writers’ strike

Pete Davidson has been tapped in as the first guest host of Saturday Night Live season 49, premiering next week.

He will be joined by rapper Ice Spice as the week’s musical guest.

SNL finally returns to NBC on 14 October, a week or so later than usual, due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which was finally resolved on 25 September after a record-breaking 146 days.

The full cast is expected to return, with one new addition: Chloe Troast.

The following week – 21 October – will see Bad Bunny perform double duty as the show’s emcee and musical guest.

Davidson, 29, was originally scheduled to make his series comeback this spring; however, the writers’ strike cut season 48 short.

The forthcoming premiere will mark the alum’s first appearance on the late-night comedy sketch show since he exited the show last year. Davidson joined SNL in 2014, making him ​one of the youngest performers ever to be featured in the sketch comedy series’s five-decade history.

Pete Davidson (Still/NBC)

He exited the show in 2022, alongside fellow cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney.

Last year, before the season’s finale aired, Davidson shared a goodbye message on SNL writer Dave Sirus’s Instagram alongside a clip of him celebrating his first-ever sketch on the show.

“This video was taken 8 years ago,” Davidson wrote. “Jerrod [Carmichael] sent it to me last night and it made me super emotional in the best way. In the video I had just gotten back from doing my very first update and sketch. It’s crazy to think that today I’ll be doing my last one.

“When I got the show I was 20 years old and I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t but especially back then… I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes. We were together through the good and the bad, the happiest and the darkest of times.

“I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life,” he added. “I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion.”

Saturday Night Live season 49 debuts on NBC on 14 October.