Jalen Brunson, Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis and Inde Navarrette to host ‘SNL’

Folks, I think Lorne Michaels is still mad that he was forced to fire Shane Gillis. What other explanation besides Michaels still holding a grudge could explain SNL bringing Gillis back to host for the third time?

Who’s hosting?

NBC announced the first four hosts for Season 52 on Wednesday, with Jalen Brunson hosting when SNL returns on Sept. 26. The NBA champion will be followed by Dakota Johnson on Oct. 3, Gillis on Oct. 10 and Inde Navarrette on Oct. 31. You’ll note that there’s a two-week break between Gillis’s episode and Navarrette getting to anchor the Halloween show.

Have they hosted before?

Brunson and Navarrette are hosting for the first time, while Johnson returns for her third stint. (Hopefully Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake don’t steal her episode again.) And somehow, despite being a standup comedian who can’t give an SNL monologue and having his episodes consistently rank among the show’s worst, Gillis is back for a third time. I guess that until someone can go back in time and undo Michaels firing Gillis, the SNL showrunner is going to keep bringing Gillis back out of spite.

Who are the musical guests?

KATSEYE will perform on Sept. 26, Turnstile on Oct. 3, Rosalía on Oct. 10 and Gracie Abrams on Oct. 31.

Correction: This article originally stated that Dakota Johnson would be hosting SNL for her second time. This will be her third time, previously on hosting on Feb. 28, 2015, and Jan. 27, 2024.