Scarlett Johansson said her husband, Colin Jost, will return to Saturday Night Live for Season 51.
“He’s going back to work,” Johansson, 40, told Entertainment Weekly on the sidelines of the Toronto International Film Festival while promoting her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great. Johansson, who has hosted SNL seven times — more than any other woman — said she could not confirm whether she would take part in another on-air gag with Jost and co-anchor Michael Che.
Johansson suggested the show’s preparations are often last-minute. "I think that’s basically the MO over at 30 Rock is that everything is like moments before," she said, adding that decisions about sketches and segments are typically finalized the night before the live broadcast.
Jost, 43, has been on the SNL staff since 2005, moving from writer to Weekend Update co-anchor in 2014. He and Johansson met on the show in 2017, married in 2020 and welcomed a son, Cosmo, in 2021. Michael Che, 42, who shares the Update desk with Jost, has not been officially confirmed for Season 51.
On The Howard Stern Show in 2024, both Jost and Che acknowledged the strains of their long-running roles and discussed the possibility of leaving. Che said he missed performing stand-up, and Jost noted that the pace and visibility of the show can lead to burnout. “People get burned out in ways you don’t see,” Jost said, while Che added that it was “hard to imagine being gone.”
The comments came as SNL prepares to return next month amid a notable cast reshuffle. Four performers — Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner — announced departures ahead of Season 51. Walker, promoted to the main cast in 2024, was the first to confirm his exit and described parts of the production as "toxic as hell" in an initial statement he later clarified, saying he and producers had agreed to part ways.
The New York Post reported that Gardner’s contract was not renewed for the upcoming season. The show has also added five new comedians to the roster: Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Marshall, 30, has worked on SNL’s writing staff since 2021 and has appeared in on-camera segments with his comedy group, Please Don’t Destroy.
Season 51 of Saturday Night Live is scheduled to premiere Oct. 4 on NBC. The show’s cast and crew have frequently evolved across seasons, balancing long-tenured anchors and writers with new talent as the program continues its live sketch format.
As SNL approaches its new season, Johansson’s comments underscore continuity at the Update desk even as the series pursues fresh faces and adjusts its ensemble for another year of live television.