‘SNL’ Season 48 Ends Early, Kieran Culkin & Jennifer Coolidge Finale Canceled
Saturday Night Live has pulled the plug on its last two shows, which were set to feature Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Coolidge, respectively, effectively ending its 48th season early.
This comes as a result of the writers’ strike, which has put work on a handful of shows on pause. The news comes after the May 6 episode was pulled, which was set to have alum Pete Davidson host. As such, the Ana De Armas-hosted episode on April 15 will serve as the show’s season finale as the network is set to air repeats for the time being.
The Succession star was set to host on May 13, followed by The White Lotus award winner on May 20, which was supposed to be the Season 48 finale. British musician Labrinth would have performed on the Culkin episode, and the Foo Fighters would have had their tenth appearance for the show to close out Coolidge’s episode.
Davidson’s SNL hosting gig was to come as promotion for his new Peacock series, Bupkis, about a fictionalized version of himself. (SNL‘s Lorne Michaels is among its executive producers.)
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing studios and streamers, have not spoken since an agreement on negotiations broke down on Monday.
“Anyone who’s millennial knows what this is, which is for us, we have to do a whole, giant, systemic, breakdown fight just to get what people before us had. And that’s what this is for television and film,” writer Greg Iwinski of the Writers Guild of America East explains.
One SNL cast member told Deadline: “We have to think about our crew too. I absolutely support the writers, and I want the writers to get what they deserve and need, but I don’t want our crew to be out of work. We can’t make this art without each other.”
Saturday Night Live, Saturdays, 11:30/10:30c, NBC
