Eddie Murphy Hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ In December, Woody Harrelson Takes Season 45 Premiere
Saturday Night Livewill return for its 45th season this fall on September 28, and just in time to promote the release ofZombieland: Double Tapin October, starWoody Harrelsonwill take hosting duties for the season premiere. But the most exciting news about SNL this season is who will be hosting in December.Eddie Murphywill be returning to host the series for the first time since 1984, the same year that he left the series after being a cast member since 1980. This is an even bigger deal than Adam Sandler returning to host the show last season, and we have even more details on the roster of guests coming toSaturday Night Livebelow.
NBC sent out a press release and and update to Twitter with the hosts already locked down forSNL:
Live from your timeline, we’ve got some news.#SNLpic.twitter.com/7HrcoM8OPg
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl)August 23, 2025
The season premiere will take place onSeptember 28with host Woody Harrelson. This will be the fourth time Harrelson has hostedSNL, but the last time he graced the stage of Studio 8H was back in 2014, so he’s long overdue for a return, especially since he’s enjoyed quite a career resurgence throughout those years.
Harrelson will be be joined by musical guestBillie Eilish, the 17-year old chart-topping singer/songwriter sensation who has made waves with her single “Bad Guy,” which just hit #1 on the Billboard charts.
The second week ofSNL’s 45h season will bring in Emmy-nominatedFleabagstarPhoebe Waller-Bridgeto make her hosting debut onOctober 5. Not only is she the star of the Amazon seriesFleabag, but she’s also the creator. On top of that, she’s also garnered plenty of acclaim as a writer and showrunner on the first season ofKilling Eve, which she also executive produces. But you might recognize Waller-Bridge for her work as the droid L3-37 fromSolo: A Star Wars Story.
Waller-Bridge will be joined by musical guestTaylor Swift, making her third appearance as a musical guest. Her new albumLoverjust hit shelves, and she’s also appearing in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the musicalCats. We’re hoping she also gets in on some of the sketch fun, as she’s been known to do even when she’s not hosting the show.
Also making their hosting debut this season will beStranger ThingsstarDavid HarbouronOctober 12. It sounds like starring in theHellboyreboot earlier this year didn’t make him any less of a desirable candidate for host, and he’ll likely be extremely pumped to take on an opportunity like this. This is long before he makes his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Red Guardian oniBlack Widownext May.
Harbour will be joined byCamila Cabello, who is also make her debut onSaturday Night Liveas musical guest. She recently hit the #1 spot on iTunes worldwide with her new song “Senorita” featuring Shawn Mendes, and she also broke Spotify’s record for the biggest debut from a male/female artist.
Kristen Stewartonly recently hostedSaturday Night Livefor the first time back in 2017, and she’s already returning for her second round onNovember 2. Stewart will be hosting just under a couple weeks before she stars in the new big screen take on the classic TV showCharlie’s Angels. As of right now, she doesn’t have a musical guest attached, but that will come in time.
After Kristen Stewart, there will likely be one or two more hosts in November, and then a couple more in December. But it’s the host closing out the first half of the season and wrapping up 2019 who fans will really be excited about.
Eddie Murphy is hosting onDecember 21, the Christmas episode of the 45th season. This is always a big star-studded show, but this one is bound to be an even bigger deal since it’s been 35 years since Murphy last hosted the show.
SNL counted Eddie Murphy as a cast member from 1980 through 1984, his last show being in February of that year. But Murphy would return in December of 1984, following his starring turn inBeverly Hills Cop. Funnily enough, Murphy actually hosted the show for the first time in 1982 while he was still a cast member. His48 HRS co-star Nick Nolte was slated to host, but he got sick the week of the show, and Murphy ended up filling in.
Since 1984, Murphy hadn’t returned to the series, and one of the main reasons was because of a grudge he held with the show after one of David Spade’s jokes about him during rubbed him the wrong way. He ended up getting over it and returned to the series during the show’s big 40th anniversary special, but him returning to host has never been on the table until now. It’ll be interesting to see how he meshes with the current cast and if he brings back any of his signature characters like Gumby, Buckwheat or Mr. Robinson.
