Saturday Night Live Unveils First Post-Holiday Host and Musical Guest — Here’s Who’s Taking the Stage

By the time 2025 wraps, it is wall-to-wall Stranger Things. Netflix stacked the holidays with new episodes dropping on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the cast popped up everywhere from late-night couches to spicy wing gauntlets, and now one of them is kicking off SNL’s return from hiatus. Yep, Mike Wheeler himself is hosting.

The quick version

• SNL Season 51 returns Saturday, January 17, with host Finn Wolfhard and musical guest A$AP Rocky.
• Wolfhard previously played an NBC page in Jason Reitman’s biopic 'Saturday Night.'
• Bowen Yang said goodbye in the December 20 episode, hosted by his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, with Cher as the musical guest.
• Aidy Bryant came back to join Yang on 'Weekend Update' as the Trend Forecasters for the first time since 2022.
• SNL flagged the new show on December 21 with the post: 'first show of the year!!!'

Finn Wolfhard takes the keys

When SNL comes back from the holiday break on January 17, Finn Wolfhard is running the show and A$AP Rocky is performing. Wolfhard has actually already been in the orbit of Studio 8H this year: he played an NBC page in Jason Reitman’s 'Saturday Night,' the behind-the-scenes movie about the early days of the show. That’s a fun little industry-nerd detail for his first time at the actual helm.

Beneath the confetti, a goodbye

Before the new year’s first episode, there was one last 2025 show that turned into a farewell. Bowen Yang’s final night on SNL was December 20, and the lineup was pure event TV: host Ariana Grande (who stars with Yang in Wicked) and musical guest Cher. The episode brought back a fan favorite on 'Weekend Update' too, with Aidy Bryant dropping in so she and Yang could reprise their Trend Forecasters — the first time they’ve done that bit together since Bryant left in 2022.

Yang’s sendoff was openly emotional. During the goodbyes, he tried to thank the people who make the place run and made it a point to shout out his boss.

"I just feel so lucky that I ever got to work here. I just wanted to enjoy for a little bit longer, especially the people. I’ve loved every single person who works here because they’re done so much for me, especially my boss."

Then Cher joined him on stage — a full-circle moment considering he has called her his personal icon and dream SNL guest. He kept it gracious:

"Ma’am, I just want to say it’s been an honor working for you and any success I have after this will be thanks to this place. Before I go, do you have any feedback for me?"

Cher, being Cher, did not miss the landing:

"Well, everyone thought you were a little bit too gay. But you know what? You’re perfect for me."

And that’s when the waterworks really hit.

What’s next

SNL confirmed the first 2026 show on December 21 with a simple 'first show of the year!!!' post. So after a December full of Stranger Things promo runs, Wolfhard wraps it up by taking the 30 Rock stage, A$AP Rocky brings the music, and the show moves into the back half of Season 51 without one of its sharpest voices. Big pivot, big booking — very SNL.