New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson hosted the Season 52 premiere of “Saturday Night Live” on Sept. 26, with Katseye as musical guest.
SNL recap: Host Jalen Brunson and Marcello Hernández (center) with musical guest Katseye ahead of the Season 52 premiere of “Saturday Night Live” on Sept. 26, 2026. Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
September 27, 2026 | 10:01 AM
2 minutes to read
“SNL” returned to the air for the season premiere of its 52nd season on Saturday, Sept. 26, with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson serving as host alongside musical guest Katseye.
As is typically the case at the start of a new season, there was change in the air at Studio 8H. Two new cast members (Grace Reiter, Saidah Belo-Osagie) took the stage, with Reiter landing an unexpectedly high number of appearances as a rookie.
On the other side of the coin, several cast members left the show. Bowen Yang was a midseason departure in Season 51, while Chloe Fineman departed this summer after seven seasons on the show. Martin Herlihy, a writer who frequently appeared on screen as part of the trio “Please Don’t Destroy” or in his own short films, also left the show after five seasons.
Brunson, who led the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973 in June, fittingly received a hero’s welcome during his opening monologue. With rare exceptions (Peyton Manning, Charles Barkley), athletes don’t typically make for the best “SNL” hosts, and that proved to be the case in the Season 52 premiere.
Brunson even admitted that his delivery was a bit wooden, but the New York City crowd was forgiving — especially when he brought out fellow Knicks stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart.
Elsewhere in the show, the political cold open continued to be a place for celebrity cameos, with Ramy Youssef returning as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside an impressed Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) and a jealous Natalie Harp (Ashley Padilla). On a show that leaned into sports premises and Brunson playing himself, the cold open was one of the episode’s highlights, as was the return of Tucker Carlson (Jeremy Culinane) to the “Weekend Update” desk.
Speaking of “Weekend Update,” co-anchor Michael Che made a joke that indirectly tied in to the ongoing Ed Sheeran, Robert Kraft, and Macklemore controversy, which avoided an obvious flashpoint this weekend when Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium shows were canceled due to the inclement weather.
“Rapper Macklemore, who was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran, announced that he is launching a Free Palestine tour,” Che said. “Haven’t the Palestinian people been through enough?”
Check out the videos below to see highlights from the Season 52 premiere of “SNL,” including Jalen Brunson’s opening monologue, a pair of musical performances from Katseye, and all of the guests visiting the “Weekend Update” desk.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open
Jalen Brunson Monologue
‘SNL’ Weekend Update Clips
Katseye Musical Performances
Some of the Best ‘SNL’ Sketches
‘SNL’ Cut for Time Sketches
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