‘SNL’ Promotes Keri Powers & Rebecca Schwartz — SkimNews
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- Keri Powers has been promoted to sole head of SNL's talent department, overseeing host, musical guest, and guest star bookings for the NBC show, a role she assumed after Brian Siedlecki — who had been the show's booker for 30 years — departed.
- Rebecca Schwartz has been promoted to producer at SNL, moving up from the talent team where she has worked since joining the show in 2015.
- Keri Powers joined SNL in 2014 after prior stints at Paramount Pictures and CAA, bringing a decade of industry experience to the now-solo leadership of the talent department.
- SNL returns for Season 52 on Saturday with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson as host and Katseye as musical guest, marking the first episode under the revamped talent leadership.
- Chloe Fineman exited the cast ahead of Season 52, while Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter joined as featured players and Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline were promoted to repertory status.
- The Season 52 repertory cast includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ashley Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Jane Wickline, with the remaining named featured players rounding out the ensemble.
Why it matters: Siedlecki's 30-year tenure ending and Powers stepping in as sole talent chief marks a generational handoff at one of TV's most-watched booking desks — the team that decides who hosts live in front of 5 million-plus viewers each week. Schwartz's internal promotion signals SNL is grooming from within rather than recruiting externally for production leadership, maintaining continuity heading into a new season.
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