‘Saturday Night Live’ returns: Bad Bunny’s second hosting stint includes major series overhaul

Saturday Night Live returned to television screens everywhere, October 4, with season 51 officially underway.

Bad Bunny hosted the debut episode, his second appearance as host on SNL, while Doja Cat joined him as the musical guest.

Amid a flurry of cast changes and other debuts, keep up with all the action right here:

Monologue

Bad Bunny wasted no time in tackling the most timely development linked to him — the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

The Puerto Rican rapper’s announcement as next year’s headliner was met with severe backlash from the MAGA crowd and he was swift to mock the movement in SNL’s trademark comedic style.

Making a point to speak Spanish in the episode’s opening, the three-time Grammy winner joked, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

Guest Stars

SNL’s latest episode featured guest appearances from Jon Hamm, Benicio Del Toro and KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X.

Cast Announcement

Newly added cast members which made their debut during SNL’s latest opening episode were Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska, and Tommy Brennan.

The exit of several core members of the show’s cast raised a lot of concerns about the show’s future, however, creator Lorne Michaels addressed them by telling Puck last week, “Change is good. The people we’re bringing in, I’m really excited about.”

Doja Cat Performs

Doja Cat made her SNL debut as the latest episode’s musical guest, performing two singles from her new album, Vie.

The rapper and singer appeared on the series stage to perform Aaahh Men! And Gorgeous.