Pete Davidson is going to have to hit the pause button on his Saturday Night Live return as the comedy special is now among the many shows impacted by the 2023 Writers Guild strike. Sadly, this also means Davidson, who left SNL after eight seasons last year, will not get the chance to host his May 6 episode. For anyone who’s familiar with the 29-year-old’s career, this feels like arguably the most accurate turn of events for a self-deprecating comedian like Davidson.
SNL’s fate was only just announced a short while ago, casting an even darker cloud over the fate of Hollywood’s most beloved TV shows. In speaking with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show earlier this week, Davidson shared that he’d spent the last couple of months working on the SNL skit. Unfortunately, all that work appears to be in vain.
On Twitter, SNL fans far and wide have shared their thoughts on the matter. As unfortunate as the writers’ strike is, somehow the consensus is that if anyone’s SNL episode was going to get canceled, it would be Pete’s.
As popular as he is, not everyone is heartbroken over the news.
Then again, some are, and are likening Davidson’s unfortunate cancellation to Dwayne Johnson’s back in 2007 during the writers’ strike of that time.
SNL’s final episode of the season was previously scheduled to air on May 20, but the writers’ strike, which will result in repeat episodes until further notice, has likely derailed those plains. As such, last week’s April 28 episode was likely the 48th season’s official finale.
Adding to the (very small) list of people saddened by Davidson’s cancelation is SNL veteran, Kenan Thompson, who just yesterday shared that he was excited for Davidson’s return if for no other reason than it would mean an easy week for him and the other SNL regulars. “It’s like a week off for us because they know how to do the show,” he said. “We don’t have to hand-walk them through every single part of it.”
Also while speaking with Fallon on his Tonight Show, Davidson alluded to the possibility of his SNL episode getting canceled, saying, “It sucks because it just feeds my weird story I have in my head, like, of course that would happen to me.”
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news for Davidson. His action-comedy series Bupkis premieres this week, hopefully serving as a nice ice pack to his bruised ego. The show premieres its first episode this Thursday, March 4 on Peacock.
