The 44th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 29, 2018, with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West and concluded on May 18, 2019 with host Paul Rudd and musical guest DJ Khaled.
Prior to the start of the season, Luke Null (who joined the cast during the previous season) was let go from the show. Upright Citizens Brigade alum Ego Nwodim joined the cast as a featured player, replacing Null. Nwodim became the seventh African-American female cast member in the show's history. Mikey Day, Alex Moffat, and Melissa Villaseñor, all three of whom were hired in 2016 for season 42, were upgraded to repertory status, while Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd, both of whom were hired in 2017 for season 43, remained as featured players.
Aside from Null, all other cast members from the previous season returned to the show, including guest star Alec Baldwin in his role as President Donald Trump.
Starting with the May 4, 2019 episode of SNL, Kate McKinnon is now the show's longest running female cast member in the show's history and she has surpassed her former SNL castmate Vanessa Bayer as the as the longest serving female cast member in history, as this was Kate's 150th episode as a cast member. As of December 2022, her former castmate Cecily Strong holds that records.
This is the final season for longtime cast member Leslie Jones, who had been with the cast for five seasons since 2014. Jones announced her departure on August 27, 2019, in favor of focusing on her movie career.
The opening montage changed from the previous season, with new title cards for the cast. The new montage follows an art deco style.
Cast[]
Changes[]
| Not Returning | Promoted | New |
|---|---|---|
Repertory Players[]
Featured Players[]
Episodes[]
Opening montage[]
S44
Opening montage used through March 7, 2020 episode of season 45. Kyle Mooney's name wasn't read for this episode (the season premier); this copy comes from the NBC internet feed which had his name dubbed in.
| Preceded by: Season 43 |
Season 44 (2018— 2019) |
Followed by: Season 45 |
| Seasons | |
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