‘Saturday Night Live’ launches 50th season with Jean Smart, Jelly Roll and maybe Maya as Kamala

NEW YORK – “Saturday Night Live” is set to set off its 50th season with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll.

Smart, the 73-year-old “Hacks” and “Designing Women” star who just won her sixth Emmy, has never hosted the NBC sketch comedy institution before in her more than 40-year career. She said on Instagram that the gig is a “bucket list” achievement for her.

Former cast member Maya Rudolph is reportedly returning to the show this season to play Vice President Kamala Harris, and if recent patterns of opening episodes with politics-of-the-moment are any indication, she could be in the premiere’s cold open at the top of the show.

Rudolph has popped up to play Harris before — and won an Emmy for it — but has yet to play the role of presidential candidate.

Lorne Michaels is still at the helm, just as he was for the first episode on Oct. 11, 1975, when George Carlin hosted and the nation got its first dose of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris.

There were two musical guests — Billy Preston and Janis Ian — playing two songs apiece, the norm in the early days.

The country singer and rapper Jelly Roll has the music role to himself Saturday, and like Smart he’s a first-timer.

That debut show is documented and reenacted in the newly released Jason Reitman film “Saturday Night,” part of a wave of reflection and celebration the show is getting on the cusp of its 50th anniversary.

Upcoming episodes will feature host Nate Bargatze with musical guest Coldplay, Ariana Grande with Stevie Nicks, Michael Keaton with Billie Eilish, and John Mulaney with Chappell Roan.

Those shows will lead up to a three-hour primetime special on Feb. 16 that will serve as the official 50th season celebration. It’s sure to feature a wide range of the many stars the show has spawned, including Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robert Downey Jr., Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell.