Is ‘SNL’ New Tonight? Find Out When Season 42 Returns With Live Episodes

“Saturday Night Live” hasn’t aired a new episode since March 11’s episode hosted by Scarlett Johansson, but fans of the series will have to wait one more week for live “SNL.” This series is once again off this weekend but will return with live episodes on April 8.

With five episodes left in Season 42, “SNL” has something big planned for the final four episodes. After April 8’s episode with host Louis C.K. and musical guest The Chainsmokers, NBC will air the final four episodes of Season 42 live across the nation.

“‘SNL’ — enjoying its most popular season in two decades — is part of the national conversation, and we thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the west and mountain time zones live at the same time it’s being seen in the east and central time zones,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman, Robert Greenblatt.

Greenblatt added, “That way, everyone is in on the joke at the same time. Kudos to Lorne Michaels, the producers and cast for making ‘SNL’ one of the most relevant and anticipated shows in the zeitgeist.”

The live across all time zone episodes will begin on April 15 when “SNL” alum Jimmy Fallon hosts, joined by musical guest Harry Styles. Chris Pine will then host the May 6 episode, followed by Melissa McCarthy on May 13 and Dwayne Johnson on May 20 for the season finale. The final four episodes will air live at 11:30 p.m. EDT, 10:30 p.m. CDT, 9:30 p.m. MDT and 8:30 p.m. PDT on NBC.

With an average of 10.6 million viewers as of February, “SNL” is having its best season in two decades. The show’s recent surge comes amid its frequent lampooning of President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and other political figures. The series can also thank actor Alec Baldwin for his highly praised portrayal of Trump. Baldwin began impersonating Trump on Episode 1 of Season 42, taking over for announcer Darrell Hammond.

While the president may not be a fan of Baldwin’s impression, the actor claims he does not hate Trump. “I’m not an impressionist, per se, but if you do any kind of comedy and they ask you to do that, most of the time, there’s some degree of appreciation, I think, involving somebody you like,” he told Variety. “Trump is somebody who, I don’t hate Trump, but he’s not somebody I admire, so it was more difficult.”