'Saturday Night Live' Casts Saidah Belo-Osagie & Grace Reiter As Featured Players For Season 52
News Source
β’Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:00:00 +0000
π° What Happened
Saturday Night Live has added two featured players for season 52. Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter will join the show, Deadline reports.
Belo-Osagie is based in Queens, New York. She created the event series Afrobeats Futura and a solo show called Saidah Gets Closure. Grace Reiter was an original member of the TikTok sketch show Stapleview.
Their hiring follows a season with no Black female cast members. Sources say producers wanted to fix that after Ego Nwodim left in late 2025.
π The Backstory
Two cast members have left. Chloe Fineman departed after seven seasons and Martin Herlihy after five. Herlihy had also been writing for the show.
Reiter has appeared in HBO's The Chair Company and wrote and directed a Netflix film called Minimum Wage. Belo-Osagie wrote and directed a short film, Tinge.
Season 52 premieres on 26 September with host Jalen Brunson and musical guest KATSEYE. The show was created by Lorne Michaels.
π― Why It Matters
SNL is a launchpad for new comedy talent. These two hires show the show is trying to look more like the audience that watches it.
Saturday Night Live has added two featured players for season 52. Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter will join the show, Deadline reports.
Belo-Osagie is based in Queens, New York. She created the event series Afrobeats Futura and a solo show called Saidah Gets Closure. Grace Reiter was an original member of the TikTok sketch show Stapleview.
Their hiring follows a season with no Black female cast members. Sources say producers wanted to fix that after Ego Nwodim left in late 2025.
Two cast members have left. Chloe Fineman departed after seven seasons and Martin Herlihy after five. Herlihy had also been writing for the show.
Reiter has appeared in HBO's The Chair Company and wrote and directed a Netflix film called Minimum Wage. Belo-Osagie wrote and directed a short film, Tinge.
Season 52 premieres on 26 September with host Jalen Brunson and musical guest KATSEYE. The show was created by Lorne Michaels.
SNL is a launchpad for new comedy talent. These two hires show the show is trying to look more like the audience that watches it.