Saturday Night Live is closing out the year with a standout holiday lineup, and the final Christmas episode is set to bring together two major stars, Ariana Grande as host and Cher as the musical guest on December 20.
The show confirmed the remaining schedule for 2024 on November 17, revealing three back-to-back episodes leading into the holidays.
The month begins on December 6 with Melissa McCarthy returning to host for the sixth time, while Dijon will make his debut as the musical guest.
McCarthy hasn’t hosted since 2017, though viewers have seen her pop up often over the years, especially for her viral impressions of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
A week later, on December 13, Josh O’Connor will take the stage as host.
The actor appears in the newest chapter of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out universe, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
Joining him is Lily Allen, who recently released her first album in seven years, West End Girl. This will be her second visit to SNL, she first performed on the show in 2007.
As per more reports by PEOPLE, the big year-end episode arrives on December 20 with Ariana Grande hosting and Cher performing.
For Cher, it marks only her second time as SNL’s musical guest, nearly four decades after her debut in 1987. She last appeared during the show’s 50th anniversary celebration earlier this year.
Grande is no stranger to Studio 8H either, having hosted twice before, in 2016 and 2024, along with two previous turns as musical guest.
This year’s December slate follows Glen Powell’s hosting gig on November 15, where Olivia Dean performed.
Speaking to PEOPLE before the episode aired, Powell said hosting had been a lifelong goal.
“Hosting SNL has been a thing I’ve wanted to do my entire life,” he shared, adding that stepping onto the stage felt like a childhood dream coming true.
During his monologue, he explained that he had actually been approached to host four years ago when Top Gun: Maverick was nearing release, but the opportunity fell through after the film was delayed.
Saturday Night Live airs every Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
