Saturday’s present is SNL’s closing episode for 2021.
NEW YORK — Individuals’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 is ready to be inducted into the vaunted 5-Timers Membership on “Saturday Night time Stay,” however the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus means there will not be a reside viewers to see it occur.
The long-running sketch comedy present announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon that the evening’s episode would tape and not using a reside viewers and with solely restricted solid and crew “as a result of current spike within the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of warning.”
“Ant-Man” star Paul Rudd is the host, returning to Studio 8H for the fifth time — usually a milestone of a lot fanfare. British pop star Charli XCX was set to be the evening’s musical visitor, however she announced on Twitter that she was unable to carry out as a result of present’s restricted crew.
“It may well’t occur this time, however I will be again!” the singer wrote. “I’m presently secure and wholesome however in fact very unhappy.”
The Dec. 18 episode was the NBC present’s final introduced episode for the yr.
It’s unclear which solid members will seem on Saturday’s present, which often tapes a costume rehearsal at 8 p.m., adopted by the reside present at 11:30 p.m.
The present returned for its forty seventh yr in September with 16 solid members and 5 featured gamers, a very crowded subject. The scale of the solid has allowed for atypical flexibility for its high-profile members, who can now take break day for different initiatives throughout the season.
The present stated those that had received tickets to the evening’s present would obtain extra info quickly.
That is removed from the primary time the Lorne Michaels-produced present has needed to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic. The virus outbreak halted its forty fifth season for a few month, however “SNL” was again on the air by mid-April with a “quarantine model” of the present hosted by Tom Hanks. The present returned to 30 Rockefeller Middle for its forty sixth season after implementing COVID-19 protocols, however booted singer Morgan Wallen from that season’s second episode for breaking guidelines. And simply final month, British singer Ed Sheeran needed to carry out from house after contracting the coronavirus.
New York state reported Saturday that just about 22,000 folks had examined optimistic for COVID-19 on Friday — eclipsing the day gone by’s mark for the best single-day complete for brand spanking new instances since testing grew to become broadly accessible. Greater than half the optimistic outcomes had been within the metropolis. Omicron is predicted to change into the dominant coronavirus variant in lots of nations inside weeks.
Different reside reveals in New York have been devastated anew by the current coronavirus surge, with many Broadway phases compelled to go darkish due to outbreaks. Mayor Invoice de Blasio this previous week declared omicron “in full pressure” in New York, snuffing out vacation mainstays just like the Rockettes Christmas present and threatening others but — all portending one other vacation season with out a lot cheer.
Val Lick contributed to this report.
