Saturday Night Live has become known for recurring hosts over the years, but an upcoming host is going to be a big deal. NBC just announced that Alec Baldwin has signed on to host an episode of SNL this coming February, making it the record-breaking 17th time that Alec Baldwin has hosted the long-running late night sketch comedy series. It's also an interesting time for the gig, as Alec Baldwin has been busy at Studio 8H this season, playing Donald Trump in the sketch comedy's political sketches.
Alec Baldwin is signed on for the Februay 11 outing of SNL, so we'll see him in action for a full episode of the NBC series very soon. He'll be joined by Ed Sheeran as the musical guest. It won't be Sheeran's first time on the series either, as the network notes it will actually mark the second time he will be on the show. Sheeran is appearing to promote his upcoming third studio album.
If you know much about SNL it's that the benchmark for being a popular SNL host is heading the late night series at least five times. When that happens, you will enter The Five-Timers Club, an exclusive club populated by the likes of Paul Simon, Tom Hanks, Justin Timberlake, Bill Murray, Candice Bergen, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Chevy Chase, Christopher Walken, Steve Martin, John Goodman---the list goes on and on. Of course, 17 times as the host of SNL is a far bigger achievement than merely squeaking in with five episodes.
Alec Baldwin getting the greenlight to host is especially a big deal this year. Starting this fall, Baldwin took over the Donald Trump impression from Taran Killam, who left SNL for a project at Showtime. Alec Baldwin's Trump impression has certainly received a lot of notice since the start of the series, often due to Donald Trump himself commenting on the sketches that NBC has chosen to air. Donald Trump has notably not been a fan of Saturday Night Live during Season 42.
Lorne Michaels has said that it was Tina Fey's idea to ask Alec Baldwin to try out the gig, and with all the press around the role, we'll have to wait and see if he maintains the role through Donald Trump's Presidency.
While February 11 is coming soon, SNL does have a few things planned before then. Kristen Stewart is scheduled to host the February 4 episode. It will be her SNL debut. To see what else the late night sketch comedy series has coming up, take a look at our Saturday Night Live guide. To find out what else TV has coming up, feel free to peruse our midseason TV premiere schedule.
