SNL Tonight? What Time Saturday Night Live Starts, Where to Watch Live, and the Latest on A$AP Rocky, Finn Wolfhard, and Stranger Things
If you’re searching “SNL tonight” on Thursday, January 22, 2026, here’s the key detail: Saturday Night Live is not new tonight because the show airs on Saturdays. The next new episode is set for Saturday, January 24, 2026, and it comes right after a heavily talked-about January return that put Finn Wolfhard in the host chair and A$AP Rocky as musical guest—plus a mini Stranger Things reunion on the Studio 8H stage.
Below is what to know right now: the next host, start times, where to watch SNL live, and what counts as real “Stranger Things news” after the series’ final season wrapped.
Is SNL new tonight? The exact dates that matter this week
-
Tonight (Thu, Jan 22, 2026): No new episode.
-
Next new episode: Sat, Jan 24, 2026.
-
Last new episode: Sat, Jan 17, 2026 (Finn Wolfhard hosted; A$AP Rocky was musical guest).
“SNL host tonight” can be confusing midweek because promos roll early, but “tonight” only becomes relevant on Saturday night.
SNL host tonight: who’s hosting the next episode?
The next Saturday Night Live episode is scheduled as follows:
| Date (2026) | Episode status | Host | Musical guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24 (Sat) | New | Teyana Taylor | Geese |
| Jan 31 (Sat) | New (milestone night) | Alexander Skarsgård | Cardi B |
That January 31 show is also being framed as a major episode-number milestone for the series, which is why the booking feels especially high-profile.
What time does SNL start?
Saturday Night Live airs live late Saturday night in the U.S. Here are the standard start times:
-
U.S./Canada: 11:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 p.m. CT / 8:30 p.m. PT
-
UK: 4:30 a.m. GMT (Sunday)
-
Cairo: 6:30 a.m. EET (Sunday)
If you’re watching from outside North America, the easiest mental model is: it’s a Sunday early-morning show.
Where to watch SNL live (and where to stream it afterward)
For “where to watch SNL live” and “SNL live,” the simplest breakdown is:
-
Live in the U.S.: Watch on your local broadcast channel at 11:30 p.m. ET.
-
Live streaming: Available through the broadcast network’s own streaming option in markets where live access is supported, and through most live-TV streaming bundles that carry the channel.
-
Full episode on-demand: Typically available the next day on the same streaming home.
-
Clips: Short sketches and highlights are usually posted shortly after airing through the show’s official channels.
If you’re outside the U.S., availability depends on local licensing. In many regions, full episodes arrive later than the live U.S. broadcast.
Finn Wolfhard, A$AP Rocky, and the Stranger Things cast: why last week’s episode popped
The January 17 episode stood out for two reasons:
-
Finn Wolfhard’s hosting debut leaned into the “grown-up former child star” angle without pretending fans haven’t watched him age in real time.
-
The show played directly with Stranger Things nostalgia, including a stage moment that brought Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin into the spotlight together.
For viewers searching “Gaten Matarazzo” or “Caleb McLaughlin” alongside “SNL,” the takeaway is straightforward: their appearance wasn’t a blink-and-miss cameo—it was part of the episode’s identity, designed to tap the shared cultural memory of the series’ final stretch.
A$AP Rocky’s musical-guest slot also drew attention because it doubled as an “event booking” rather than a routine performance, adding to the feeling that SNL’s January run is being treated like a relaunch after the holiday break.
Stranger Things news in early 2026: what actually changed recently
The biggest concrete update is that the final season has already completed its rollout, with a staggered release that ended on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31, 2025). That means “Stranger Things news” in January is less about whether the finale is coming and more about what follows the end:
-
The franchise’s final chapter concluded at the end of 2025, closing the main storyline.
-
A behind-the-scenes documentary project tied to the final season arrived in mid-January 2026, aimed at showing how the closing run was made and what went into finishing the series.
That context matters because it explains why an SNL “Stranger Things” moment lands so hard right now: audiences are still in the emotional afterglow of finishing the story, and the cast remains a pop-culture magnet even when they’re promoting new work.
What to watch for this Saturday
If your searches are all about “SNL new tonight” and “where to watch SNL live,” here’s the practical play:
-
Check back on Saturday, Jan 24 near showtime for any last-minute scheduling changes.
-
Plan around 11:30 p.m. ET if you want to watch live.
-
If you miss it, expect the full episode to be easiest to catch Sunday, with clips appearing much sooner.
SNL is in a January stretch where the booking strategy is clear: lean on big pop names, tap fresh cultural moments, and use nostalgia—like Finn Wolfhard and the Stranger Things cast—as fuel for a live-TV event people still feel they need to watch in real time.
