Unless you have late-night plans this Saturday night, there won't be any major reason to stay up extra late: There isn't a new Saturday Night Live episode airing on NBC this weekend.

While it's definitely a bummer, you'll likely be pumped about who is hosting SNL when the comedy series does come back on February 29. Comedian John Mulaney will lead the first SNL episode after the show's brief break, while Talking Heads frontman David Byrne will be the musical guest.

Amazing! But why is there no new episode of SNL tonight?

Rest assured, the show's brief break doesn't necessarily mean any crazy drama is happening behind the scenes. While the true reason why SNL takes breaks is unknown, it could, as one Redditor cleverly noted, have to do with the number of episodes that NBC orders per season.

For the past five years, the network has issued 20–22 episodes each season. The seemingly random breaks help stretch the show over the course of roughly eight months (end of September to mid-late May) — a typical time frame for most big network shows to run. Just like how This Is Us or A Million Little Things goes on a hiatus (usually during the holiday season), SNL has to break up their season too. Then, like most big shows that premiere in the fall, SNL is off for the entire summer.

Beyond that reasoning, the occasional breaks may also benefit the show's writers and comedians and provide the rest of the crew plenty of time to rehearse, make sets and costumes, and more.

All in all, breaks can be a good thing, especially when it means that viewers will be rewarded with talent like John and David when the wait is over. Also, we could all catch up on our sleep, right?

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Kayla Keegan News and Entertainment Editor Kayla Keegan covers all things in the entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity space for Good Housekeeping.

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