It's been a rough road for those who have stuck with Saturday Night Live through the years, even as hosts like Louis C.K., Dwayne Johnson, and Channing Tatum have offered guffaw-inducing respites. And the announcement today of NBC's legendary sketch-comedy show's first round of hosting gigs gives great hope that at least the first round of episodes of the series' upcoming new season will be worth staying in on Saturdays. Firstly, and inevitably, came the announcement that Amy Schumer will be hosting the second episode of the season, continuing a year that has been rife with big wins for the groundbreaking comic, including Trainwreck and her upcoming HBO stand-up special directed by Chris Rock. She will, less inevitably, follow Miley Cyrus, who will be hosting the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on October 3rd.
The more exciting and damn-near tear-inducing announcement is that Tracy Morgan, who faced major health issues over the last year or so following a fatal bus crash, will be returning to his stomping ground to host the third episode of the season. The brilliant, eccentric Morgan, a favored guest of David Letterman and the lynchpin of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's now-classic 30 Rock, will take Lorne Michaels's stage on October 17th, his first major return gig since the crash. Before the accident, he provided some very funny supporting roles in Rock's under-appreciated Top Five and the entertaining animated feature The Boxtrolls. His return to Saturday Night Live is one of the first must-watch events of the fall line-up announced thus far, and even if his musical guest is Muse, you should be tuning in.
Check out SNL, Schumer, and Morgan's Twitter reactions to the news below: