Teyana Taylor with Marcello Hernandez and muscal guest Geese (Screenshot: NBC)
With ten episodes now in the books, Saturday Night Live has officially reached the halfway point of Season 51. The first half of the season has been shaped by significant offseason turnover, creating space for new voices to emerge. That shift was visible once again last week, when featured players logged nearly as much screen time as repertory cast members.
As the show enters the back half of the season, the question is whether that momentum continues—or whether the more familiar rhythms of SNL reassert themselves. Kicking things off is host and singer-actor Teyana Taylor, who brings fresh buzz to the show this weekend after earning her first Oscar nomination Thursday for her role in One Battle After Another. She’ll be joined by musical guest Geese.
Here are five storylines we’ll be watching this Saturday night:
A Temporary Fix
Season 51’s cast makeup has drawn scrutiny following the sudden pre-season departure of Ego Nwodim. Despite strong early showings from several new performers, the lack of a Black female cast member—for the first time since Season 39—has been felt.
Taylor’s presence in the building this week underscores what that absence can mean creatively. SNL sketches often draw directly from performers’ lived experiences, and that dynamic was already evident in this week’s promo, which saw Taylor channel a version of Angela Bassett’s Bernie Harris from Waiting to Exhale. Even for one week, that added perspective could open up sketch territory the show hasn’t explored much this season.
Storm Watch
One of the biggest variables this week may have nothing to do with what happens inside Studio 8H. A major winter storm is forecast to bring extreme cold and heavy snowfall to the New York City area, raising the possibility of travel disruptions.
Weather has impacted SNL before—from canceled cameo appearances to last-minute cast absences. In 1996, then-cast member Mark McKinney was unable to fly in from Canada for a Christopher Walken-hosted episode. More recently, severe storms loomed over episodes hosted by Paul Giamatti in 2005 and Ronda Rousey in 2016 .
The show has already adjusted its standby ticket process this week ahead of the coming storm. Will there be other consquences?
A New MVP Candidate
Few cast members enter the back half of the season with more momentum than James Austin Johnson. Quietly, he’s having his strongest year yet. Johnson has portrayed his Donald Trump impression in nine of the season’s ten episodes, putting him on pace to surpass Darrell Hammond’s season-long record of 14 appearances as Bill Clinton during Season 23.
But Johnson’s recent surge hasn’t been limited to the cold open. He’s delivered back-to-back standout performances, from a musical duet with Ariana Grande during the holiday episode to anchoring a late-’90s boy band sketch last week. Even a cut-at-dress sketch that cast Johnson as a bizarre Euphoria writer found traction online. More than four seasons into his run, it feels like SNL may finally be widening the lane for Johnson beyond presidential duty.
Sarah (Un)Sherman
While Johnson’s role has expanded, Sarah Sherman (who joined SNL the same year as Johnson)has been far less visible on the show in recent episodes. Her relative absence has been more noticeable in the wake of her recent stand-up special, Live + In the Flesh, which reminded viewers of the fearless, often grotesque comedic voice that first made her stand out.
Early in her SNL tenure, Sherman’s body-horror sensibility appeared regularly—from anthropomorphic meatballs to an office worker who lost her eyes. As the show recalibrates in the back half of the season, the question is whether that voice reasserts itself—or continues to be dialed back.
Greenland
Saturday Night Live opened 2026 last weekend with a cabinet-meeting cold open introducing the Trump administration’s latest headlines, but one issue seems especially ripe for deeper treatment: the President’s renewed push to acquire/conquer Greenland.
While Trump has floated outlandish geopolitical ideas before—including repeatedly referring to Canada as the 51st state—his Greenland rhetoric escalated this week ahead of his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and he’s since claimed that a deal could be imminent. Given the sheer strangeness—and international implications—the story seems ripe for some sharp political writing, both in the cold open and on “Weekend Update.”
This weekend’s Saturday Night Live airs Saturday, January 24 at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. Join us at LateNighter.com immediately after for the Saturday Night Network’s live after-show, where SNL experts and superfans share their hot takes on the night’s best and worst moments.
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