![\"Teyana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/teyanataylorgeese1500.png\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\tTeyana Taylor with Marcello Hernandez and muscal guest Geese (Screenshot: NBC)\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
With ten episodes now in the books, Saturday Night Live<\/a> 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<\/a> as repertory cast members.<\/p>\n As the show enters the back half of the season, the question is whether that momentum continues\u2014or whether the more familiar rhythms of SNL reassert themselves. Kicking things off is host and singer-actor Teyana Taylor<\/a>, who brings fresh buzz to the show this weekend after earning her first Oscar nomination<\/a> Thursday for her role in One Battle After Another. She\u2019ll be joined by musical guest Geese.<\/p>\n Here are five storylines we\u2019ll be watching this Saturday night:<\/p>\n A Temporary Fix<\/p>\n Season 51\u2019s cast makeup has drawn scrutiny following the sudden pre-season departure of Ego Nwodim<\/a>. Despite strong early showings from several new performers, the lack of a Black female cast member\u2014for the first time since Season 39\u2014has been felt.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s presence in the building this week underscores what that absence can mean creatively. SNL sketches often draw directly from performers\u2019 lived experiences, and that dynamic was already evident in this week\u2019s promo<\/a>, which saw Taylor channel a version of Angela Bassett<\/a>\u2019s Bernie Harris from Waiting to Exhale. Even for one week, that added perspective could open up sketch territory the show hasn\u2019t explored much this season.<\/p>\n Storm Watch<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Weather has impacted SNL before\u2014from canceled cameo appearances to last-minute cast absences. In 1996, then-cast member Mark McKinney<\/a> was unable to fly in from Canada for a Christopher Walken<\/a>-hosted episode. More recently, severe storms loomed over episodes hosted by Paul Giamatti<\/a> in 2005 and Ronda Rousey in 2016 .<\/p>\n The show has already adjusted its standby ticket process this week ahead of the coming storm. Will there be other consquences? <\/p>\n A New MVP Candidate<\/p>\n Few cast members enter the back half of the season with more momentum than James Austin Johnson<\/a>. Quietly, he\u2019s having his strongest year yet. Johnson has portrayed his Donald Trump<\/a> impression in nine of the season\u2019s ten episodes, putting him on pace to surpass Darrell Hammond<\/a>\u2019s season-long record of 14 appearances as Bill Clinton<\/a> during Season 23.<\/p>\n But Johnson\u2019s recent surge hasn\u2019t been limited to the cold open. He\u2019s delivered back-to-back standout performances, from a musical duet with Ariana Grande<\/a> during the holiday episode to anchoring a late-\u201990s boy band sketch last week<\/a>. Even a cut-at-dress sketch that cast Johnson as a bizarre Euphoria writer<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Sarah (Un)Sherman<\/p>\n While Johnson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Early in her SNL tenure, Sherman\u2019s body-horror sensibility appeared regularly\u2014from anthropomorphic meatballs<\/a> to an office worker who lost her eyes<\/a>. As the show recalibrates in the back half of the season, the question is whether that voice reasserts itself\u2014or continues to be dialed back.<\/p>\n Greenland<\/p>\n Saturday Night Live opened 2026 last weekend with a cabinet-meeting cold open<\/a> introducing the Trump administration\u2019s latest headlines, but one issue seems especially ripe for deeper treatment: the President\u2019s renewed push to acquire\/conquer Greenland.<\/p>\n While Trump has floated outlandish geopolitical ideas before\u2014including repeatedly referring to Canada as the 51st state\u2014his Greenland rhetoric escalated this week ahead of his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and he\u2019s since claimed that a deal could be imminent. Given the sheer strangeness\u2014and international implications\u2014the story seems ripe for some sharp political writing, both in the cold open and on \u201cWeekend Update.\u201d <\/p>\n This weekend\u2019s 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<\/a> immediately after for the Saturday Night Network\u2019s live after-show, where SNL experts and superfans share their hot takes on the night\u2019s best and worst moments.<\/p>\n