Saturday Night Live returns for its 51st season on Oct 4, and the cast includes a few fresh faces, including one who will hopefully draw in the Gen Z crowd: Veronika Slowikowska. She is a 29-year-old comedian and actor, and was officially announced as a new cast member in early September. Her brand of awkward, Gen Z-flavored humor has already earned her a strong online following, with over one million fans on Instagram.
Featured VideoSlowikowska previously appeared on the Netflix series Tires and had guest roles in Poker Face and What We Do in the Shadows. However, her sketches on Instagram and TikTok introduced her to a much wider audience. Because she already created a recognizable comedic style online, her move to SNL seemed like a natural next step.
Who is Veronika Slowikowska?
The Canadian performer trained at Toronto’s Randolph College for the Performing Arts. After graduation, she began experimenting with short sketches on social media, often leaning into cringe and awkward setups. Viewers quickly responded to her low-key delivery, and her posts consistently went viral. Because SNL often looks for performers who can translate internet humor to the stage, Slowikowska’s resume aligns with current trends for the late-night show.
AdvertisementIn March, she explained her process in an Interview magazine conversation with her roommate and collaborator Kyle Chase. “Not a sexy answer, but usually we have meetings to talk about stuff that’s been inspiring us,” she said. She added that sometimes the videos came together in structured sessions, but other times “it’s spur-of-the-moment and it’s quick and easy.” Above all, she emphasized fun and authenticity. “The name of the game is always to be having as much fun as possible and to continue to impress ourselves.”
On Sept 2, Slowikowska announced the casting news on her Instagram account (@veronika_iscool) with the caption, “Dream come true 🥲 see you Saturdays @nbcsnl.”
AdvertisementSocial media posts highlight her SNL potential
Fans celebrated her transition to late-night television, while many compared her awkward style to former SNL cast member Kyle Mooney. In one Reddit thread prior to her casting announcement, u/dirtreynoIds said, “Literally watched a short of hers on IG the other day and thought to myself how great she’d be on SNL.”
u/Cognonymous wrote, “I think in terms of TikTok sketch comics she’s a better choice than Jane (who would probably work better as a writer). Veronika’s strength on TikTok is awkward comedy in a similar vein to Kyle Mooney. I don’t know what kind of range she has beyond that. I have my favorites from TikTok and while she’s not a number one she’s definitely got her own thing going and built a following.”
After the casting reveal, tweets on X amplified people’s most beloved clips of the comedian. @_th3mcel shared a 2024 show video with the note, “in honour of Veronika getting casted on SNL, this is my fav clip of her show back in December (we were first row and SO stoned).”
Advertisement@CoreyLahey60 added, “Veronika is one of the better castings SNL has had in a couple years. One of the few comedians/sketch comics on TikTok that make me laugh.”
Other fans echoed this praise, including @sweatyhabibti, who tweeted, “congrats to PSH’s number one fan Veronika Slowikowska on joining the cast of SNL!”
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