‘SNL’ ditches audience, limits cast and crew amid omicron

NEW YORK » People’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 is set to be inducted into the vaunted Five-timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus means there won’t be a live audience to see it happen.

The long-running sketch comedy show announced on social media Saturday afternoon that the night’s episode would tape without a live audience and with only limited cast and crew “due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution.”

“Ant-man” star Paul Rudd is the host, returning to Studio 8H for the fifth time — typically a milestone of much fanfare. British pop star Charli XCX is the night’s musical guest. The Dec. 18 episode was the NBC show’s last announced episode for the year.

It’s unclear which cast members will appear on Saturday’s show, which usually tapes a dress rehearsal at 8 p.m., followed by the live show at 11:30 p.m.