Eight cast members from season 47 left the show prior to the beginning of this season, making it the biggest cast exodus since 1995. The departures of longtime cast members Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney were announced at the time of the season 47 finale, and in September 2022, several weeks prior to the start of this season, the departures of Alex Moffat, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor, and featured player Aristotle Athari were announced.[5][6][7] In response to all these changes, executive producer Lorne Michaels called this season a "transition year".
Michaels also stated that the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason why all those cast members stayed on longer than usual, compared to previous casts, and that they would've left earlier had it not happened, saying most cast "had nowhere to go" during the pandemic.[8][9][10]
Returning cast member Cecily Strong took a temporary leave of absence early in the season due to her commitments to perform in the Los Angeles revival of the one-woman stage play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, returning to SNL for the October 29, 2022, episode.[11] Strong then departed several weeks later on December 17 after being on the show for eleven seasons since 2012, making her the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's history.[12]
This season saw the death of longtime production designer Eugene Lee, who died on February 6, 2023, and had worked on the show since the show's premiere on October 11, 1975,[15] with the exception of seasons 6–10 (1980–1985).[16]
Before this season started, Colin Jost and Michael Che (who had been head writers since 2017), resigned from their positions, but still continued to write for this season. Also, Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O'Sullivan, Auguste White, and KC Shornima were all hired as new writers (with Shornima specifically writing for Weekend Update).[17] Asha Ward joined the writing staff starting with the December 3, 2022 episode.[18]
As of the February 4, 2023 episode, regular writers Gary Richardson (who had been a staff writer since 2017, but had taken a one-year hiatus from season 47), Will Stephen (a writer since 2015), and Celeste Yim (who joined the writing staff back in 2020) were promoted to writing supervisors.[19]
This episode aired concurrently on Peacock, with future episodes available one day after broadcast. It is the first episode to stream exclusively on Peacock since NBC’s prior next-day streaming rights deal with Hulu ended in mid-September.[22]
Jack Harlow performs a medley of "Lil Secret" and "First Class" for his first set and "State Fair" for his second.
Jeff Probst appears in the "Joker Wedding" sketch.
Tom Hanks appears in the "AA Meeting" sketch, introduces Harlow's first performance, and appears as David S. Pumpkins in the "David Pumpkins Returns" sketch.
Bobby Moynihan appears as Drunk Uncle on Weekend Update and appears in the "David Pumpkins Returns" sketch.
Cecily Strong returns after being absent for the first three episodes of the season.[26] She also introduces Harlow's second performance.
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall, as well as Steve Kornacki, appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Election Night" sketch.
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall, as well as Sarah Sherman's father, Mike Sherman, appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Chelsea" sketch.[33]
Kieran Culkin appears in the Father of the Bride – Part 8 sketch.
Lizzo performs "Break Up Twice" and "Someday at Christmas" and appears in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Plirts" sketch.
During her first performance, Lizzo honored late artist Annie Lee's painting, Blue Monday, by appearing in a white dress in front of a blue background.[36]
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Plirts" sketch.
Cecily Strong’s final episode as a cast member; to mark her departure, Butler and the cast perform "Blue Christmas".
Jack White performs a medley of "Taking Me Back" and "Fear of the Dawn" for his first set and "A Tip from You to Me" for his second.
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Stakeout" sketch.
After Weekend Update, a tribute to longtime production designer Eugene Lee, who died February 6, is shown in silence.
Before the goodnights, a photo of Richard Belzer, who died earlier in the week, is shown in silence.
Scarlett Johansson appears in the goodnights to induct Harrelson into the Five-Timers Club. A jacket was also given to White, a five-time musical guest by Kenan Thompson.
The 1975 performs "I'm in Love with You" and "Oh Caroline".
Fred Armisen appears in the opening monologue and in the "Parent Trap" sketch.
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Road Trip" sketch.
Before the goodnights, a photo of Erin Maroney Fraser, an assistant who worked on the show for several years, and who died March 3, is shown in silence.
Writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall appear in the pre-recorded "Please Don't Destroy – Molly Shannon 2K23" sketch.
Shannon reprises her roles as Jeannie Darcy in the pre-recorded "Jeannie Darcy: Selective Startage" sketch and Sally O'Malley in the "New Choreographer" sketch.
During the goodnights, James Austin Johnson and Devon Walker jointly hold and Punkie Johnson wears a shirt with Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson's names on them.
^During the episode's original airing, the audio in some markets was out of sync during the cold open and part of the opening monologue. This issue was fixed partway through the monologue, and the rerun later that night had the audio synced with the video.[34]
^Yeah Yeah Yeahs were originally booked as this episode’s musical guest, but had to cancel the week prior due to guitarist Nick Zinner’s hospitalization for pneumonia.[37]
^Davidson hosted the next season's premiere episode, on October 14, 2023.[50]
^Foo Fighters performed as the musical guest on October 28, 2023, the third episode of the next season.[53]