Saturday Night Live season 49

The forty-ninth season of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live premiered on October 14, 2023, during the 2023–24 television season, with host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice, and concluded on May 18, 2024 with host Jake Gyllenhaal and musical guest Sabrina Carpenter. The premiere was delayed due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

Cast
After the departures of eleven cast members between seasons 46 and 48, the entire cast from the previous season returned. James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman, who both joined as featured players prior to season 47, were promoted to repertory status, while Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, all of whom joined the previous season, remained as featured players. On October 4, 2023, New York City-based comedian Chloe Troast was announced as a new cast member.

While not credited as cast members, the comedy group and SNL staff writers Please Don't Destroy (Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall, and John Higgins) continue to appear in digital videos. In some episodes, starting with this season's premiere, they received the credit "A Film by Please Don't Destroy" in the opening montage, marking the first time since Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse" cartoons that a recurring segment has its own credit in the opening.

Cast roster
Repertory players
 * Michael Che
 * Mikey Day
 * Andrew Dismukes
 * Chloe Fineman
 * Heidi Gardner
 * James Austin Johnson
 * Punkie Johnson
 * Colin Jost
 * Ego Nwodim
 * Sarah Sherman
 * Kenan Thompson
 * Bowen Yang

Featured players
 * Marcello Hernandez
 * Molly Kearney
 * Michael Longfellow
 * Chloe Troast
 * Devon Walker

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers
The entire writing staff from the previous season returned, with no changes.

Ratings
Entertainment news website LateNighter reported that Live+7 ratings will be published in June.