There will be no live audience or musical guest for this year’s final episode of “Saturday Night Live” due to Covid-19, the show and singer-songwriter Charli XCX announced.
“SNL” cited the recent spike in the omicron variant, and said there will also be limited cast and crew on set, according to a series of tweets.
“The show continues to follow all government safety guidelines in addition to a rigorous testing protocol,” the tweet read. “If you have won tickets to this show, you will be receiving more information soon. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
The show said on social media that those who had won tickets to the night’s show would receive more information soon.
Charli XCX was to be the musical guest, but announced in a tweet hours before the show that she would not be performing “due to the limited crew at tonight’s taping of snl.”
“I am devastated and heartbroken,” she said in the tweet. “It can’t happen this time by I’ll be back! i am currently safe and healthy but of course very sad.”
On Friday, New York state reported 20,627 cases of the virus, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began, according to a NBC News count of state and county health department reporting.
“Saturday Night Live” airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET.
Actor Paul Rudd hosted Saturday’s show.
This was far from the first time the Lorne Michaels-produced show has had to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus outbreak halted its 45th season for about a month, but “SNL” was back on the air by mid-April with a “quarantine version” of the show hosted by Hanks.
The show returned to 30 Rockefeller Center for its 46th season after implementing Covid-19 protocols, but booted singer Morgan Wallen from that season’s second episode for breaking rules. And last month, an SNL performance on set by British singer Ed Sheeran was nearly derailed after he tested positive for Covid-19.
