Is Saturday Night Live new tonight on NBC, May 16, 2026?

Is Saturday Night Live new tonight on NBC? It goes without saying, but of course it makes sense to want the show back for another go. Nothing about last week’s installment signaled that a hiatus was coming.

With that, here is where we come bearing the bittersweet news: There is an installment tonight but at the same time, it is the last one until the fall. The season 51 finale is being hosted by none other than former cast member Will Ferrell, which almost guarantees some legendary stuff is coming around the corner. The same goes for the musical guest here in Sir Paul McCartney.

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As many people out there may know, there is at least a small chance that this is the final SNL episode for at least one or two cast members, as there is often a measure of turnover. Hopefully, it will not be as much as what we saw between seasons 50 and 51, but almost anything could be on the table. It is hard to predict sometimes what some longtime cast members will want to do but luckily, there are some up-and-comers who are already proving themselves.

So what sort of sketches are we going to get?

Given that Ferrell has such a rich catalogue of notable characters, it feels almost certainly that a few notable names from his past will return. Meanwhile, it feels close to a given that we are going to see something political / topical in the cold open.

Finally, let’s just cross our fingers and hope for the Weekend Update joke-swap to make another appearance. Over the past few years, this is something that has defined many finales — why wouldn’t it do the same here?

Related – Get more news now on Saturday Night Live and the future ahead

What do you want to see on the Saturday Night Live finale when we get a chance to check it out?

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