“Saturday Night Live” Season 52 Adds 2 New Cast Members Before Premiere: ‘A Dream Come True’
“Saturday Night Live” Season 52 Adds 2 New Cast Members Before Premiere: ‘A Dream Come True’
Angel SaundersThu, September 17, 2026 at 8:50 AM UTC
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Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace ReiterCredit: Mike Klubeck; Jill Petracek -
Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter will join Saturday Night Live as new cast members for season 52
The long-running NBC sketch comedy show announced the news on Wednesday, Sept. 16
Their addition follows the exits of Chloe Fineman, Martin Herlihy and Ego Nwodim in recent months
Saturday Night Live is bringing on some fresh faces.
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the long-running NBC sketch comedy series announced via social media that two newcomers will be joining the franchise for its 52nd season.
“WELCOME TO THE CAST!” the official Instagram account for the show said in a joint post with its new stars — Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter.
“A DREAM COME TRUE,” Belo-Osagie wrote on her Instagram Stories in a repost. “See you on Saturdays chile.”
Reiter also reposted the reveal.
Reiter is a Wisconsin native who does stand-up comedy and acting. She’s also set to star on Netflix’s upcoming series Minimum Wage.
Chloe Fineman; Martin Herlihy
Belo-Osagie, meanwhile is a Nigerian American filmmaker and comedian from Queens. Her addition to the show follows the surprise exit of Ego Nwodim in the fall of 2025, leaving no Black actresses on SNL, per Deadline.
Reiter and Belo-Osagie auditioned for SNL executives in early summer; more than a dozen comedians were considered, Variety reported.
The additions of the two comedians come after both Chloe Fineman and writer Martin Herlihy left the series ahead of season 52.
Fineman, 38, congratulated the newest SNL cast members in her own Instagram post after the big reveal.
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“Wooooo!!! Been a huge @gracereiter1 fan forever!!! From Syracuse to SNL baby!!!!!” she wrote over a fun selfie with the newbie. She also reshared SNL‘s post and tagged both Reiter and Belo-Osagie.
“After 7 wonderful seasons at SNL I have decided it’s time for my next chapter,” Fineman previously said of her decision to leave in July. “It’s cliché to say this, but working at SNL has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t really believe I got to be a part of it. I fell in love with the place the second I walked through the door.”
Wicked actor Bowen Yang marked his final SNL episode on Dec. 20, 2025, after joining in 2019.
Herlihy exited in early September, just weeks before the new season is set to air.
SNL has already announced a star-studded slate of hosts and musical guests for season 52, including NBA star Jalen Brunson, who helped lead the New York Knicks to their first NBA Finals win in 53 years in June and will host the first episode. Verity actress Dakota Johnson is set to return, while KATSEYE will make their SNL debut as musical guest.
Other stars set to appear this season include Rosalía and Gracie Abrams.
The show has had a big year despite talent departures, earning 11 nominations at this year’s Primetime Emmys. Ultimately, SNL won Outstanding Makeup For A Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program for Bad Bunny‘s Season 51 premiere episode.
The cast of ‘Saturday Night Live’ season 51Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
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Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla, Jane Wickline, Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska are returning, according to Variety.
Saturday Night Live season 52 premieres on Sept. 26.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
