Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan are among the stars of the 50th season of “SNL”

CNN
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When the show returns later this month for its historic 50th season of Saturday Night Live, a host of famous faces will be on hand to kick things off.

Stars slated to appear as hosts or musical guests on the upcoming season of “SNL” include Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan.

Emmy winner Jean Smart will host the season premiere on September 28, along with musical guest Jelly Roll; the October 5 episode will be hosted by Nate Bargatze and feature Coldplay; the October 12 episode will be hosted by Grande with musical guest Stevie Nicks; Michael Keaton will host the October 19 episode and Eilish will perform; and on November 2, John Mulaney will return as host and rising star Roan will perform.

This season of “Saturday Night Live” will also see the return of guest star (and former “SNL” cast member) Maya Rudolph, reprising her role as Vice President — and Democratic presidential candidate — Kamala Harris. CNN previously reported that Rudolph will play Harris at least until the end of the election cycle.

As usual, “SNL” will accompany the election season with political parodies – but it is not yet known who will play Republican candidate Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance or Harris' vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. Current cast member James Austin Johnson was last seen as Trump on the show.

“SNL” first aired on NBC in 1975. In honor of the show's 50th anniversary, a live prime-time special will air next year on Sunday, Feb. 16. A movie about the very first episode, titled “Saturday Night,” is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide next month.