On September 15, 2020, it was announced that the entire cast from last season would be returning, with Ego Nwodim, who had been a featured player since 2018, being promoted to repertory status, while Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, both of whom had been hired in 2019 for the previous season, remained as featured players.[5][6]
On September 16, prior to the start of the season, SNL staff writer Andrew Dismukes, Upright Citizens Brigade alum Lauren Holt, and stand-up comedian Punkie Johnson were added to the cast as featured players.[4] The same day of Dismukes, Holt, and Johnson's additions to the cast, it was announced that Alec Baldwin and Maya Rudolph, though not members of the cast, would reprise their respective roles as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris,[7] while Jim Carrey would take over impersonating Joe Biden.[4] Biden had been portrayed by Jason Sudeikis while he was vice president and by Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, and Sudeikis the previous season. On December 19, Carrey announced he would step down from playing Biden, stating it was the original intention that he would play Biden for only six weeks.[8] Current cast member Alex Moffat succeeded Carrey to portray as Biden during the cold open of the episode hosted by Kristen Wiig.[9]
Cecily Strong was absent from the first six episodes of the season due to filming commitments for her Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon!. Aidy Bryant appeared in the season premiere before taking an extended absence due to filming commitments for her Hulu show Shrill.[10][11] Both Strong and Bryant were still credited as cast members throughout the season.
This was the final season for longtime cast member Beck Bennett, who had been on the show since 2013, a total of 8 seasons. It was also Lauren Holt's only season on the show.[12]
Prior to the start of the season, writing supervisor Anna Drezen (who had been a writer on the show since 2016) was promoted to co-head writer alongside Michael Che, Colin Jost, and Kent Sublette, making her the first female head writer since Sarah Schneider.[13] (Drezen had spent the last 1½ year as writing supervisor)
Additionally, Celeste Yim was added to the writing staff.[14]
After the Kristen Wiig-hosted episode, writer Sam Jay left the show (Jay had been a writer for 3½ seasons, starting in 2017).[15]
This would also be the final season for longtime writing supervisors Fran Gillespie and Sudi Green (who had been written on the show for since 2015), as they both left the show, after six years (they had both also previously spent four years as writing supervisors, starting in 2017).[16] However, Green has returned for the show for the first-half of it's 50th season.[17]
Fellow writer Gary Richardson would not write for the next season, but would return in season 48.[18]
This would also be the final season for Dan Licata and Emma Clark as writers (who both joined the writing staff back in 2019, after just two seasons.[16]
The cold open generated controversy among conservatives who claimed that it was inappropriate to satirize Trump while he was hospitalized. Baldwin defended his portrayal of Trump saying that based on news released by the White House, Trump was not gravely ill, and that the satire was about Trump's debate performance, not about his illness.[19]
The episode pays tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died two weeks prior, with McKinnon portraying Justice Ginsburg silently sitting in the audience at the end of Weekend Update, followed by a card honoring the late justice.
Jason Momoa appears in the pre-recorded "Enough is Enough" sketch.
The episode pays multiple tributes to Eddie Van Halen, who had died earlier in the week: footage of him performing with the Robert Cray Band from season 12 is shown before the goodnights,[21] White uses a guitar designed especially for him by Van Halen during his performance of "Lazaretto",[22] and Burr wears a Van Halen shirt during the goodnights.
Morgan Wallen performs "7 Summers" and "Still Goin' Down" and appears in "Morgan Wallen Party", a sketch parodying the events leading up to the cancellation of his appearance in the second episode of the season.
Eminem appears in the pre-recorded "Stu" sketch, which itself parodied his song "Stan".
Cecily Strong returns after not appearing on the first six episodes of the season.
The January 16, 2021, repeat of this episode featured a clip of former band member Howard Johnson, who had died earlier in the week, performing with his band Gravity in 1978.
E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent elects not to perform due to COVID-19 concerns. He is replaced by Jack Daley of Little Steven's Disciples of Soul band. This is the first performance by the E Street Band without Tallent since the band's inception in 1973.[32]
Chalamet's mother, Nicole Flender, appears in the opening monologue.
Jimmy Fallon appears in the pre-recorded "Tiny Horse" sketch.
Questlove appears in the "XXL Rap Roundtable" sketch.
During the goodnights, Chalamet wore a hoodie with the Legendary Pictures logo on it, in response to the news that Dune, which he starred in and was produced by Legendary but distributed by Warner Bros., would be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.[33]
Bad Bunny performs "La Noche de Anoche" with Rosalía and "Te Deseo Lo Mejor" and appears in the pre-recorded "Loco" sketch and in the live-recorded "Sea Shanty" sketch.
Jack Harlow performs a medley of "Tyler Herro" and "Whats Poppin" for his first set and "Same Guy" with Adam Levine for his second set. He also appears in the pre-recorded "NFTs".
Miley Cyrus performs "Without You" with The Kid Laroi and "Plastic Hearts", appears in the cold open singing "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" originally performed by her godmother, Dolly Parton, and appears in the pre-recorded "Chad on Mars" sketch. Cyrus' mother Tish Cyrus also appears in the cold open.
The mothers of the cast (excluding Michael Che, Alex Moffat, and Andrew Dismukes) appear in the cold open.
Musk's mother Maye Musk appears in the opening monologue.
Chris Rock and long time production designer Akira Yoshimura appear in the cold open.
After Update, a picture of Charles Grodin, who died earlier in the week, is shown.
SNL writer Celeste Yim appears in the pre-recorded “It’s Pride Again” sketch.
Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt's final episode as cast members.
Specials
Title
Original air date
Ratings/ Share
"The 2020 SNL Election Special"
November 2, 2020 (2020-11-02)
N/A
A special showing of all fan-favorite SNL political sketches.
Notes
^Morgan Wallen's scheduled appearance as the musical guest was cancelled the week of the episode after videos surfaced showing him violating the show's COVID-19 protocols on mask wearing and social distancing.[23] White was announced as a replacement the day before the broadcast.[24] Wallen was later rescheduled for the December 5 episode.
^The episode was broadcast as planned in spite of an employee at 30 Rockefeller Plaza having tested positive for COVID-19 on air day.[25]
^Ausiello, Michael (September 16, 2020). "Saturday Night Live Tapes Jim Carrey to Join Season 46 as Joe Biden". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020. Michaels also confirmed that Alec Baldwin will be back as Trump, with Maya Rudolph set to once again play Biden's running mate Kamala Harris.