Pete Davidson's 'SNL' episode canceled due to writers' strike (original) (raw)
Pete Davidson's Saturday Night Live episode canceled due to writers' strike
The former SNL cast member recently joked that "of course that would happen to me."
Published on May 2, 2023 05:34PM EDT
As it turns out, Pete Davidson will not be making his grand return to Studio 8H just yet.
Davidson, who left the show's cast last May, was gearing up to host Saturday Night Live for the first time alongside musical guest Lil Uzi Vert this week, but NBC announced Tuesday the episode has been canceled due to the Writers Guild of America voting to strike.
The beloved late-night sketch comedy show plans to air reruns for the time being since sketches are written during the week of each episode. No other hosts or musical guests had been announced before news of the strike.
Pete Davidson. Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
The Bupkis creator discussed his hosting gig still being up in the air while visiting The Tonight Show last Friday.
"Lorne [Michaels] told me [about hosting] a couple months ago but then this week, as you know, a writers' strike might happen," he said before the strike began. "So I've been working on this for like, two, three months and they're like, 'Yeah, well. We'll know Monday if it's happening or not.'"
"It just sucks because it feeds my weird story I have in my head like, 'Of course that would happen to me,'" he joked, adding that it wasn't actually about the writers but instead "all about me!"
It is unclear just how long the strike will last. However, SNL traditionally ends its season in late May so if it extends beyond a couple of weeks, the Ana de Armas-hosted April 15 episode will likely serve as the season 48 finale. It also means that any cast members who were planning to exit the show at the end of the season won't have the opportunity to say their onscreen farewells.
This is not the first time that a writers' strike has affected Saturday Night Live, or bumped a notable host. Just one example came in March 1986 when John Candy and Eugene Levy were set to co-host the show together — and had even filmed a promo spot — before their episode was similarly canceled due to a WGA strike. The old footage of the pair resurfaced 35 years later when Levy's son and Schitt's Creek costar, Dan Levy, hosted SNL in 2021 and a clip was used in his promo package.
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