When Saturday Night Live returns for its 40th season, a familiar face — or rather, a familiar voice — will be rejoining to the show: former cast member Darrell Hammond.
Having spent 14 seasons on SNL, Darrell is the longest-serving cast member in the show’s history, and NBC has announced he’ll return to the show this fall, but in an entirely new capacity: announcer. He’ll replace longtime SNL announcer Don Pardo, who died in August at the age of 96.
It’s not known whether we’ll also be seeing Darrell in front of the camera occasionally, although fans certainly hope he’ll make an appearance whenever a sketch calls for Donald Trump, Sean Connery, Regis Philbin or any of the other numerous celebrities he masterfully impersonated on the show.
Darrell Hammond will begin his new gig as SNL announcer on the season premiere, featuring host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande, airing Saturday, Sept. 27 on Global.
This won’t be the first time Darrell has served as the show’s announcer; during those occasions when the elderly Pardo — who did the show intro remotely from an Arizona rest home — was unable to announce the show’s iconic opening, Darrell would sub for him with a flawless impression that left viewers none the wiser. “; “I sat in for Don when he had laryngitis several times over the years,”; Hammond told USA Today. “He was a lovely person. When he passed, they wanted me; it felt right for me to be the one to replace him. It’s been a very improbable life; I didn’t expect something like this, but it feels real good.”;