Pete Davidson is heading back to Studio 8H, but for the first time, he won’t be a “Saturday Night Live” cast member. Instead, Davidson will become a first-time “SNL” host on May 6. The long-running NBC sketch series tweeted the news on April 15, alongside the announcement that Lil Uzi Vert will be the night’s musical guest.
The former cast member’s hosting gig is timed to the upcoming premiere of his semi-autobiographical Peacock series, “Bupkis.” Davidson was part of the “SNL” cast for eight seasons until his departure in 2022. At the time, he left to pursue a career in movies. Since then, he’s starred in “Meet Cute” with Kaley Cuoco, “Good Mourning,” and the soon-to-be-released summer blockbuster “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”
When Davidson exited “SNL” last May, he said an emotional goodbye to the series on Instagram. At the time, he wrote, “I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes. We were together through the good and the bad, the happiest and the darkest of times.”
He went on to thank “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels (who also serves as a producer on “Bupkis”) and his fellow cast members for supporting him throughout his years on the show. “I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at ‘SNL’ my life,” he said. “I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion. Thank you for always believing in me and sticking by my side even when it seemed comical. Thank you for teaching me life values, how to grow up and for giving me memories that will last a lifetime.”