The Real Reason Pete Davidson Is Absent From Saturday Night Live This Week

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The Real Reason Pete Davidson Is Absent From Saturday Night Live This Week Pete Davidson Pete Davidson won’t be live from New York on this particular Saturday night. Pete Davidson is one of the most popular comedians. Pete Davidson, Kim Kardashian's new boyfriend, has been in the news these days thanks to Kanye West. Kanye has repeatedly threatened Pete Davidson. These issues have made Pete Davidson's absence from next week's program strange for his fans. A source close to Pete Davidson confirmed to E! News that he won't be on the Feb. 26 episode of Saturday Night Live, which is set to be hosted by his close pal John Mulaney, because the 28-year-old comedian is currently on-set shooting his new film, The Home. The “Saturday Night Live” cast member has been cleared to work on the production of “The Home,” the Miramax horror movie being directed by James DeMonaco, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for “SNL” could not be reached for immediate comment. Cast and crew just completed the show’s regular dress rehearsal in Studio 8H in NBC’s New York headquarters, part of the series’ much-followed broadcast ritual. Directed by James DeMonaco, the upcoming horror film will see Pete step into the leading role of Max, "a troubled man who starts working at a retirement home and realizes its residents and caretakers harbor sinister secrets," according to Deadline. As Pete's character discovers more about the home and its inhabitants, he discovers his own personal connection to the building that stretches all the way back to his childhood. Davidson is the latest member of the venerable NBC program’s cast to take a leave of absence to tend to other projects, part of a recent overhaul by executive producer Lorne Michaels. In decades past, cast members kept close to the show in most instances. Since last season, however, Michaels has granted the cast, several of whom have been with him for multiple cycles, new leeway to tackle other pursuits — many of them under the aegis of his Broadway Video production company. Cecily Strong, for example, was given leave last season to take part in Apple’s “Schmigadoon,” while Aidy Bryant was able to take some weeks to help finish a new cycle of Hulu’s “Shrill,” both produced under Michaels’ auspices. Kate McKinnon was absent for most of the first half of the current season of “SNL” to take part in a movie, but has since returned. Strong also recently appeared in an off-Broadway revival of “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” a one-person show originally built around Lily Tomlin. Davidson is one of the most scrutinized members of the current “SNL” cast. Since joining “SNL” in 2014 he has developed his range on the show, moving from appearances on “Weekend Update” to doing multiple taped sketches and playing figures like former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. As more TV viewers migrate to streaming services to watch their favorite scripted dramas and comedies on demand, “SNL” has taken on new importance for NBC. Once relegated to airing after the late local news in a time slot network executives didn’t consider paramount, the program now runs live across the U.S. all at once, meaning that it runs in primetime in certain parts of the country. The show in the 2020-2021 season was the most-watched entertainment program on TV among viewers between 18 and 49, the demographic most preferred by advertisers. In “The Home,” Davidson plays Max, a troubled worker at a retirement home who discovers terrible secrets about the facility. Production on the movie was scheduled to start in January. DeMonaco was also director of “The Purge.” Tonight’s “SNL” broadcast is expected to be hosted by comedian John Mulaney, marking his fifth turn in that role since 2018. Mulaney was a writer at “SNL” for four seasons. The fan-favorite SNL cast member, who met his girlfriend Kim Kardashian while she was hosting the show, has taken on a variety of acting roles throughout his career. Pete has starred as Scott Carlin in the semi-autobiographical Judd Apatow directed film The King of Staten Island, transformed into a short-lived supervillain for the DC film Suicide Squad and even played Mötley Crüe's A&R manager opposite his friend Machine Gun Kelly in the band's biopic The Dirt. When recently asked about Pete's star quality on the Howard Stern Show, Ben Stiller shared his thoughts on the future of his friend's acting career. "He just has a real charm about him," Ben said. "I think he really wants to act and he's making movies and taking roles on that are real acting roles." The Zoolander actor added, "I get the sense that he's a guy who really loves to work, cares about his work, and I think that's how he's going to be known. He's got a lot of great work ahead of him too." The Real Reason Pete Davidson Is Absent From Saturday Night Live This Week | Pete Davidson Source Variety E News