Ana de Armas & The Art of Method Brainstorming

After Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty and Molly Shannon/Jonas Brothers, this weekend marks the end of three new episodes of NBC’s Saturday Night Live in a row. Will this weekend be the final new episode before a brief break and then a final run of episodes to wrap up the season? We have a feeling that we’ll find out either this week or during Saturday night’s show. But for now, our focus shifts back to host Ana de Armas (Blonde, Knives Out), who’s being joined by musical guest Karol G this weekend. But before we get to Saturday night, we have to track how things are going for de Armas – and that begins with the following midweek sketch with SNL cast member Chloe Fineman.

Here’s a look at de Armas and Fineman in this week’s midweek sketch, and we’ll see you back on the site later today when we get a look at how the read-thru went for the host and SNL cast this week:

NBC’s SNL Season 48 includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker, and Bowen Yang. Executive produced by Michaels, SNL is directed by Liz Patrick, with alum Darrell Hammond announcing. Based out of Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series is produced by SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video.

Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live Season 48, SNL’s Future & More

Speaking with The New York Times, SNL creator Lorne Michaels addressed the casting changes heading into the new season, labeling the then-upcoming season as “a year of reinvention” that could lead to some “exhilarating” change and teasing what’s in store for SNL’s big 50th-anniversary celebration:

COVID-19 Fallout Resulted in Much Larger SNL Cast Than Usual: “The pandemic had put us in this position where no one could really leave because there were no jobs. And at the same time, if I don’t add new people every year, then the show isn’t the show. There have to be new people, for both our sake and also for the audience.”

Michaels Believes Cast Departures are Good Things for SNL: “We got to a point where we had a lot of people, and people weren’t getting enough playing time. The way the series has survived is by that level of renewal. The price of success is that people go off and do other things; their primary obligation is to their talent and to keep pushing that. And there’s something so much better about the show when all that matters is the show. There’s a time to say goodbye, and there’s a natural time for it, but the natural time just got interfered with by the pandemic.”

SNL’s 50th Anniversary/Season? Think Big: “The 50th will be a big event. We’ll bring everyone back from all 50 years and hosts and all of that. It will be a very emotional and very strong thing. There won’t be as many plus-ones, I can tell you that much.”