Aubrey Plazais heading toSaturday Night Live. The first hosts have been revealed for the return of the sketch comedy series when it comes back to NBC on Jan. 21, with Plaza kicking things off accompanied by musical guest Sam Smith, perNBC. This marks theSNLhosting debut for theParks and Recstar, while Smith previously appeared as the musical guest in 2014 and 2017. Smith also appeared onSNLin 2015 to join musical guest Disclosure for one song.
Plaza might be new toSNL, but she’s long been a popular name in comedy, going back to her long-running role as April Ludgate in the hit showParks and Recreation. More recently, Plaza, who also garnered significant praise for her role inLegion, has been doing voiceover work for the adult animated seriesLittle Demon.Plaza also recently appeared in the acclaimed HBO seriesThe White Lotus, and her role earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award. She is also set to appear in the upcomingWandaVisionspinoff seriesAgatha: Coven of Chaos, making her debut in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
Plaza also recently appeared in the filmEmily the Criminal, following roles in films likeChild’s Play,Black Bear, andBest Sellers. She was also cast by Francis Ford Coppola to join the ensemble cast of the filmmaker’s upcoming epic,Megalopolis. With Plaza continuing to ascend in Hollywood, it may have been only a matter of time before the actress, who has experience with performing sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, served as a host ofSaturday Night Live.
Related:Aubrey Plaza Pranks Her White Lotus Co-Stars
Michael B. Jordan and Lil Baby Will Follow
NBC has also announced that the Jan. 28 episode ofSNLwill be hosted by Michael B. Jordan, who’s currently working on the anticipated sequelCreed III. Like Plaza, this will be Jordan’s debut as anSNLhost. Lil Baby serves as musical guest for the episode, and while this is the first time he’s been the official musical guest, he previously appeared on a 2019 episode. He joined DJ Khaled, who was the show’s musical guest for Paul Rudd, for a guest spot on stage.
SNLreturns with Aubrey Plaza and Sam Smith on Jul 22, 2025, followed by Michael B. Jordan and Lil Baby on Jul 17, 2025. The episodes will also be made available to stream on Peacock.
