It is perhaps the biggest revelation in the comedy industry this year, and one that many Saturday Night Live fans will not want to miss.
Eddie Murphy is set to host the show on December 21, in what will be his first time back there in over three decades. On Monday, SNL announced through their Instagram stories that the former cast member will be returning to host the popular weekly comedy show later this year.
Murphy skyrocketed to stardom back when he became a featured player on SNL , with his tenure there ending in 1984, as reported by CNN . He will be hosting the last show before the winter holiday break, which is known for being one of the biggest in the season.
As fans of the sketch show will know, the actor joined the cast at the young age of 18 in 1980, and quickly became one of the most beloved cast members. Indeed, he was so big at the time that he landed a hosting gig in 1982 when a guest cancelled at the last minute, even though Murphy was part of the regular roster. After he left, he became a huge movie star, but not without his fair share of box-office flops.
According to IndieWire , it was when David Spade, who was new at SNL at the time, made a joke about Murphy’s career, that he took offense and decided to cut ties with the very TV program that propelled him to fame.
“What really irritated me about it at the time was that it was a career shot. It was like, ‘Hey, come on, man, it’s one thing for you guys to do a joke about some movie of mine, but my career? I’m one of you guys. How many people have come off this show whose careers really are f***** up, and you guys are shi***g on me?’,” he later explained, adding that he did not like the fact that producer Lorne Michaels gave the joke the green light.
Eventually the feud came to an end, and luckily for comedy fans, everyone is back on good terms. The musical act for the December 21 episode is still to be announced, but most of this season’s guests have already been revealed: actress Kristen Stewart, and Emmy-nominees Phoebe Waller-Bridge (creator of Fleabag ) and David Harbour ( Stranger Things ) will also be hosting, while Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello are set to perform there.
The 45th season of SNL kicks off on September 28, with actor Woody Harrelson returning to host for a fourth time, while pop star Billie Eilish will serve as the musical guest.