'Saturday Night Live' returning with a remotely produced episode

The live sketch-comedy show has been on hiatus since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic

Saturday Night Live will return to television with a remote episode. Reuters 

Saturday Night Live is returning this weekend, but the sketch-comedy show won't be airing live from New York.

The show, which has been on hiatus since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, will air remotely-produced content in its usual Saturday time slot on NBC at 11.30pm ET (7.30am UAE time).

The show, set to return on Saturday, April 11, will include a version of its "Weekend Update" segment and other skits from cast members but is not yet clear how long the episode will be or whether the performers will be live.

The show announced the news on Thursday, April 9, by posting a screenshot photo on its Twitter page, showing the cast in what seems to be a giant Zoom call.

The tweet was accompanied by the hashtag #SNLAtHome.

Saturday Night Live, now in its 45th season, is one of the longest-running television shows in the US. The show has seen a number of legendary comedians in its cast including Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Bill Murray.

The most recent episode of the show aired on March 7 and was hosted by Daniel Craig. The English actor was there to promote the new James Bond film No Time to Die, which saw its release postponed from its initial April release to November due to Covid-19.