Pete Davidson’s ‘SNL’ Comeback Canceled Amidst Writers Strike

Pete Davidson‘s highly anticipated comeback to Saturday Night Live has been canceled due to the ongoing writers strike.

The comedian was set to host the show this Saturday, May 6, with Lil Uzi Vert as his musical guest. But as 11,500 Writers Guild of America members took to the picket line this week, the sketch comedy show — among many other television series — has been placed on hold.

“The previously announced Saturday Night Live hosted by Pete Davidson and musical guest Lil Uzi Vert is cancelled due to the writers’ strike,” NBC announced in a release.

This would have been his first time coming back to the show since he left in 2022 after eight years on the cast. An insider source told Page Six last month that he was looking forward to returning to the show that helped launch his career.

“He’s very excited to go back. [Leaving the show] has been a change of pace for him, but in a good way,” they said at the time.

The news, however disappointing, must not be totally unexpected for Davidson. In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he said he was well aware the show might not go forward if the writers strike actually happened.

“It’s funny, Lorne [Michaels] told me a couple months ago, but this week, a writers strike might happen,” he said. “So I’ve been working on this for two, three months and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ll know Monday if it’s happening or not.'”

He joked, “It sucks because it just feeds my weird story I have in my head like, ‘Of course that would happen to me. They didn’t want me to host it. It’s all about me!'”

This is the first time WGA has gone on strike since 2007. The strike, which began Monday (May 2), has already put a number of series on hold, including late night television, streaming hits like Yellowjackets and upcoming Marvel projects.

“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” a statement released by the union reads.

The union is calling for fair compensation and stricter regulations on AI use, among other demands.