SNL Gets a New Cast Member and Four New Writers

Hollywood Reporter has the news: as expected, Saturday Night Live is adding a new cast member for its 44th season, and her name is Ego Nwodim.

Nwodim is a UCB regular who you might’ve heard on episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang!, Hollywood Handbook and Paul F. Tompkins’ Spontaneanation podcast. She was also a New Face at Just For Laughs 2016, and has made appearances on 2 Broke Girls, Rob Huebel’s Do You Want to See a Dead Body? and other TV shows. She’s also on Twitter, of course, and is sure to see her follower count explode in the next week or so.

The venerable sketch show has also added four new writers to its staff. Bowen Yang, Alison Gates, Alan Linic and Eli Mandel join the show in time for its 44th season premiere, which airs on NBC on Saturday, Sept. 29. That season premiere will be hosted by Adam Driver, with a musical performance by somebody named Kanye West, whose multiple previous SNL appearances have all been pretty memorable.

We’ll no doubt have more opinions about the first episode of the season after it airs next week, especially with Alec Baldwin confirmed to return as Donald Trump. Keep an eye out for our post-show reviews on Sundays, all season long.