SNL books Chris Rock and Megan Thee Stallion for premiere

Saturday Night Live has revealed their first host and musical guest for the upcoming season and announced some new changes designed to ensure the safety of the cast and crew returning to the 8H studio at Rockefeller Plaza.  Former cast member Chris Rock will return as host for the Season 46 premiere on October 3 and will be joined by first time musical guest Megan Thee Stallion.

 

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Season 46. October 3.

A post shared by Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) on Sep 24, 2020 at 11:04am PDT

Rock's upcoming appearance will mark his third time hosting the long-running sketch show. The stand-up comedian previously returned to his old stomping grounds back in 1996 and 2014 as a guest host. A cast member from 1990 to 1993, Rock often appeared on Weekend Update and starred in skits alongside Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Dana Carvey, David Spade, and the late Phil Hartman and Chris Farley. Most recently, Rock has been celebrated for his dramatic turn in the FX series Fargo.The actor and writer has continued releasing stand up specials since leaving SNL and has also been active in helping to promote the careers of other comedians, including acting as a producer for specials and TV shows by Amy Schumer, Robin Thede and W. Kamau Bell.As for Megan Thee Stallion, the rapper previously appeared on SNL as a guest artist during Chance the Rapper’s October 2019 performance of the pair’s song “Handsome.” Marking her first time as the main musical guest, Megan celebrated the news on Instagram, writing "HOTTIES Oct 3 the mf hot girl coach will be on the SEASON PREMIERE of SNL with @chrisrock @nbcsnl.”The Houston native, real name Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, has had a massive 2020. Her single “Diamonds” featuring Normani and the release of her EP Suga in March were only the beginning. The album featured the track “Savage,” which received a remix in April that included the addition of Beyoncé, helping to send the song to the top of the charts. In August, Megan and Cardi B released their single and music video for “WAP,” marking Megan’s second number one of the year and becoming an instant contender for the biggest song of 2020. Also in August, Megan was named a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon and released her first ads for the company, images of the rapper in makeup that she had applied herself. Earlier this week, Time Magazine released their list of the 100 most influential people of the year. Not only was Megan included on the list, she was one of only eight honorees to receive their own cover.The BET winner has also endured some devastating lows in 2020 -- a terrifying incident in August that involved Canadian rapper Tory Lanez shooting Megan in both feet.When Saturday Night Live returns in October, it will feature many familiar faces. The entire season 45 cast has signed on for the new year along with three new players, Lauren Holt, Punkie Johnson and Andrew Dismukes. Jim Carrey will join several episodes to play Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden, Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-nominated role as Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Alec Baldwin will return as Donald Trump.The October 3rd premiere will also mark the first time the cast and crew will broadcast live from the studio after shutting down production in March. Following the implementation of quarantine, SNL released three at-home episodes in April and May. On Thursday, show creator Lorne Michaels told The New York Times that strict safety measures will be implemented in order to facilitate the return of the cast, crew and live audience to studio 8H. Rapid COVID-19 testing will be mandatory for everyone involved in the show, including audience members, as well as limited rehearsal time, physical distancing and mask wearing backstage and in the SNL offices. “We don’t know that we’re going to be able to pull it off,” said Michaels. “We’re going to be as surprised as everyone else when it actually goes on.”[video_embed id='2036116']BEFORE YOU GO: Alanis Morissette is 'unschooling' her three kids[/video_embed]