Saturday Late Night‘s Season 51 season finale is right around the corner, capping off a strong run of 19 (and soon to be 20) episodes.
The 2025-2026 season has been an eventful one. Just ahead of the Bad Bunny-hosted premiere, the show added five new cast members — Ben Marshall, Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska — to a majorly reworked lineup. Then, Bowen Yang exited the cast during Ariana Grande’s Christmas episode after six-and-a-half seasons as a performer.
That new cast delivered on all fronts, meshing seamlessly with a diverse roster of talented Hosts. The multi-talented Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo pulled double duty. Ryan Gosling returned for his fourth time and was hilariously pranked by the writers, and Jack Black became a Five-Timer. And beloved alum Amy Poehler returned to show ’em how its done (long live Emo Mom!).
Speaking of cast alums, another star who made their mark in Studio 8H is set to close out the season on a high note. Keep reading for all the details on SNL‘s Season 51 finale, who’s hosting, and who’s Musical Guest.
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When is the SNL Season 51 finale and what time is it on?
The Season 51 finale airs on Saturday, May 16 at 11:30 ET/10:30 CT/8:30 PT on NBC and Peacock. Stream it the following day on Peacock.
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Who’s the SNL season finale Host and Musical Guest?
Legendary SNL alum Will Ferrell hosts the Season 51 finale, joined by Paul McCartney as the episode’s Musical Guest.
The Emmy-winner is star and executive producer in Netflix’s forthcoming comedy series The Hawk. Ferrell was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2002, making his sketch debut as a dad who’s absolutely had it in Season 21’s “Get Off the Shed: New Friends.” In addition to memorable recurring characters like Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan and “Love-Ah” Roger Klarvin, Ferrell was known for celebrity impressions including Harry Caray and of course, George W. Bush.
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The star was also prominently featured in the iconic “More Cowbell” — a sketch so popular that an entire episode of the SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night documentary was based around it.
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The SNL Season 51 Finale will mark the first time Ferrell has returned to host the show since Season 45, on November 23, 2019.
McCartney makes his seventh trip to the SNL stage, first performing in Season 5, with his most recent performance taking place during the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert in 2025. Don’t miss the SNL finale May 9 on NBC and Peacock.