WGA Strike: Pete Davidson’s SNL Episode To Be Canceled

Saturday Night Live will not air any new episodes amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. This means Pete Davidson’s grand return to the series after his departure a year ago will sadly not take place this weekend.

The scheduled episode was going to be Davidson’s hosting debut. It would also feature rapper Lil Uzi Vert as the night’s musical guest. NBC declared that the series would instead air older episodes starting May 6.

After completing eight seasons, the 29-year-old comedian departed the sketch series in May last year. Davidson intended to host the episode to promote his new series Bupkis, which will premiere on May 4. The series is a semi-autobiographical comedy about Davidson’s mishaps and experiences while managing his personal life and navigating fame.

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Davidson jokingly shared that he would feel personally affected if the writers’ strike were to occur. He stated, “It sucks because it just feeds my weird story I have in my head, like, ‘Of course that would happen to me.'”

With the ongoing WGA Strike, writers are ceasing work and picketing the studios, resulting in the cessation of numerous scripted projects. This pause will lead to a Hollywood shutdown similar to the one caused by COVID. In fact, this is the first time since the last WGA strike, which happened 15 years ago.

The strike forced SNL to halt production after airing just four episodes during its 33rd season in 2007. Two planned tapings featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jonah Hill were ultimately scrapped. Although, the show eventually resumed airing in February 2008. However, the season had only 12 episodes, significantly less than the usual 20.

Davidson’s appearance is set to be rescheduled after the strike ends, but for now, check out more on the ongoing strike and its impact.

RHEA MALVE

Writer | Tweet me @rheamalve_xo