'SNL' Adds Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter as Featured Players for Season 52

Belo-Osagie and Reiter Join as Featured Players

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" has added Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter as featured players ahead of the show's 52nd season. The two join the long-running sketch series after first being eyed at showcases and then advancing through screen tests.

Returning Roster and Departures

The bulk of last season's cast is set to return, including Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman and Kenan Thompson, along with featured players Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Ashley Padilla, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska and Jane Wickline. Bowen Yang left SNL midway through last season, while Chloe Fineman departed over the summer after seven seasons, and writer and sometime on-screen performer Martin Herlihy exited after five seasons.

Belo-Osagie's Background and Representation

Saidah Belo-Osagie is a writer and comedian based in Queens, NY, who wrote and directed the short film "Tinge," created and stars in the solo theater show "Saidah Gets Closure," and created the "Afrobeats Futura" live discussion series. She called joining SNL "a dream come true" in an Instagram story. Her hiring follows a season in which SNL had no Black female cast members, with producers having looked to address that since Ego Nwodim's surprise exit in the fall of 2025. She is repped by Gersh, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.

Reiter's Credits and Representation

Grace Reiter is a stand-up comedian and content creator who was an original member of the TikTok-based sketch show "Stapleview." Her credits include a recurring role on HBO's "The Chair Company" with Tim Robinson, "Chelsea Peretti's" feature "First Time Female Director," the upcoming Netflix show "Minimum Wage," on which she also wrote and directed, and the online parody "The Hunger Games (but Better)." Originally from Chippewa Falls, WI, she is repped by Gersh, Mosaic, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Season 52 Premiere and Upcoming Hosts

"Saturday Night Live" opens its 52nd season on Sept. 26 at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT, with New York Knicks guard and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson as host and KATSEYE as the musical guest. Subsequent host-and-musical-guest pairings include Dakota Johnson with Turnstile on Oct. 3, Shane Gillis with Rosalía on Oct. 10, and Inde Navarrette with Gracie Abrams on Oct. 31. The show is created and executive produced by Lorne Michaels and produced in association with Broadway Video.