'Saturday Night Live' Season 52: Jalen Brunson hosts premiere with KATSEYE as musical guests

“Hurt him, and I will end you,” she snarls. Brunson’s monologue referenced the Knicks’ finals performances before Kenan Thompson appeared as Stephen A. Smith.

Knicks players Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart also joined the segment. In “Office Shooter”, Brunson played an employee determined to make a basketball shot with a paper ball. He eventually succeeds, prompting cheers from the audience.

“Dream Academy: Season 2” introduced new contestants alongside KATSEYE, who performed “Newton’s Cradle”. Grace Reiter, Veronika Slowikowsky and Jane Wickline featured in the sketch.

KATSEYE went on to perform their song"Animal"during their debut onSNL.katseye - animal full performance at snl !!pic.twitter.com/2ZARw1YC5J— ➴ smirna | #teamflesh (@avanzeeni)September 27, 2026“Chris Brown and Usher Support Group” centred on relationship jealousy following experiences involving the singers’ tour, while “High School Musical: The New Generation” placed Brunson in a school basketball story that turned into a competition over sports and theatre.

The final segment, “Layover”, followed Padilla dealing with her father’s hospitalisation while travelling home with her boyfriend. Brunson and Mikey Day played passengers using massage chairs, creating disruption aboard the flight. FormerSNLcast member Jeff Richards also discussed athletes who have hosted the programme and said, “Muhammad Ali would have been the best of all time.”

Richards added of Brunson, “He’s already a New York icon.”