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Hader will host on October 11
Indie-soul singer Hozier will perform
Hader appeared on eight seasons of the series
“Saturday Night Live alum and “Stefon” mastermind Bill Hader will return to the show, which is now entering its 40th season, as host for the October 11th episode. Indie-soul singer Hozier, whose self-titled debut comes out next week, will appear as the episode’s musical guest.
The actor, who appeared on eight seasons of the series, stars as a man who reconciles with his twin sister (fellow former “SNL” cast member Kristen Wiig) in the recently released movie “The Skeleton Twins.” The movie has been praised for showing off both actors’ dramatic capabilities as much as their comedic talents.
“There’s this thing with funny people where you think that if you’re not good at this, you’re not good at anything,” Hader recently told Rolling Stone of his transition to movie acting. “So with SNL I was like, ‘If this doesn’t work, I’m f**ked, because I’m bad at everything else.’”
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“SNL” announced the first host and musical-guest combos for the upcoming season earlier this month.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Parks and Recreation” star Chris Pratt will appear with Ariana Grande on the season premiere, which is set to air on September 27th. On the following week’s episode, recent Emmy Award winner and “liquid pot” enthusiast Sarah Silverman – who was an “SNL” cast member from 1993 to 1994 – will host with Maroon 5 as her musical guest.
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When the show returns, there will be some noticeable changes in the cast. In July, the show sacked two recent additions to the cast – Noël Wells and John Milhiser – and bid adieu to Nasim Pedrad, who quit to appear on the Fox series Mulaney. Additionally, Cecily Strong will no longer appear as the host of “Weekend Update,” which will now be helmed by former Daily Show correspondent Michael Che (Strong says she’s “genuinely happy” about the change).
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Finally, the show will return without its longtime announcer, Don Pardo – who introduced 38 seasons of SNL – after the SNL staple passed away in August at the age of 96.
Copyright © 2015 Rolling Stone.