Sabrina Carpenter has been booked for double-duty on Saturday Night Live next month, amid a tense free speech debate surrounding the late-night TV shakeup.
Fans of the liberal sketch show shared their fears for its survival after Stephen Colbert's series was canceled and Jimmy Kimmel's was indefinitely suspended.
Meanwhile some of Carpenter's own admirers have floated the idea that she could make a political statement on the long-running program, following her pro-trans performance at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month.
This Thursday, one day after Kimmel's suspension, Saturday Night Live unveiled the hosts and musical guests for the first three episodes of the 51st season.
Episode three, which is slated for broadcast October 18, will feature Carpenter, 26, hosting for the first time and singing on the show for the second.
When her return was announced on social media, her fanbase flew into paroxysms of glee and flocked to social media to share their reactions.
Sabrina Carpenter fans rejoiced at news she will pull double duty on Saturday Night Live next month; pictured September 7 at the MTV Video Music Awards
They breathlessly posted: 'losing my mind over this sabrina carpenter,' 'sabrina carpenter world domination,' and: 'You have made my summer awesome.'
One rechristened the show: 'sabrina night live,' as another screamed: 'SO EXCITED!! I KNOW IT WILL BE GREAT!' and a third declared her 'the Queen of SNL.'
'Sabrina's working late, cause she's on double duty on SNL,' another wrote; still another exclaimed: 'DOUBLE SABRINA WE'RE SO BACK,' one more gushed in Spanish: 'WHAT A DELIGHT,' and another wrote: 'Love the Sabrina dominance.'
Others expressed anxiety for the future of Saturday Night Live - which has been fiercely critical of US President Donald Trump and his voters - in the wake of the cancelation of Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which Puck reported lost $40 million a year for CBS, will end altogether next year rather than even replacing its frontman, in a development that was announced this May.
The axe came down shortly after Colbert slammed his network's parent company on the air for paying $16 million to settle Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with his election rival Kamala Harris, which was deceptively edited to make her answers appear more cogent ahead of last year's vote.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinitely suspended this Wednesday after its host suggested that Charlie Kirk's murderer may have been part of the 'MAGA gang,' prompting the FCC chairman to publicly threaten a probe.
The investigation has indicated that the accused gunman Tyler Robinson held leftist views and allegedly texted his live-in transgender lover Lance Twiggs, aka Luna, that he killed the MAGA influencer because he 'had enough of his hatred.'
Episode three, which is slated for broadcast October 18, will feature Carpenter, 26, hosting for the first time and singing on the program for the second.
When her return to the comedy series was announced this week, her admirers flew into paroxysms of glee and flocked to social media to share their reactions.
Carpenter herself ruffled some viewers' feathers earlier this month with her MTV Video Music Awards performance, in which her backup dancers held up pro-trans slogans.
One of Carpenter's own admirers floated the idea that she could make a political statement on Saturday Night Live, following on from the signs at the VMAs.
The authorities are looking into whether Robinson was motivated by his romance with Twiggs, who is said to be cooperating with law enforcement.
When the upcoming Saturday Night Live lineup was posted to Instagram, one commenter demanded: 'Let Kimmel and Colbert host,' while another fretted: 'Praying for SNL to survive this administration.'
'How long till Trump says he'll shut down NBC unless they take SNL off the air?' wondered a third, as a fourth wrote: 'I hope you're still around for those 3 shows!'
Carpenter herself ruffled some viewers' feathers earlier this month with her MTV Video Music Awards performance, in which her backup dancers held up signs with slogans like: 'In trans we trust,' 'Support trans rights' and 'Dolls, dolls, dolls.'
In response to the news of her upcoming Saturday Night Live episode, one X user wrote: 'Petition for her to take suggestions from her fans on what the protest signs should say this time,' to which another commenter replied: 'No :3,' leading the first to retort: 'Why not? Free speech is literally being threatened right now.'
Her Saturday Night Live debut came on the season 49 finale last year, and this year she and Paul Simon opened the 50th anniversary special with a duet.
The next season of Saturday Night Live will begin October 4 with Bad Bunny hosting for the second time, accompanied by Doja Cat as the musical guest.
Amy Poehler, who became a star on the show, will return as a guest-host the following weekend on October 11 with singer-songwriter Role Model performing.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , which Puck reports lost $40 million a year for CBS , will end altogether next year rather than even replacing its frontman
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinitely suspended this week after its host suggested that Charlie Kirk's murderer may have been part of the 'MAGA gang'
Others expressed anxiety for the future of Saturday Night Live - which is often fiercely critical of Trump - amid an ongoing free speech debate
Carpenter's latest career development went public just three days after she was unveiled as one of the headliners of Coachella next year.
Her fellow headliners will be Justin Bieber and Latin superstar Karol G, topping off a lineup that met with a contemptuous reaction on social media.
FKA Twigs, Ethel Cain, Addison Rae, David Byrne, The Strokes, Disclosure, Swae Lee, Sexyy Red, Giveon and Young Thug are also booked to play the festival next year.
'This is quite literally the worst Coachella lineup I've ever seen and I've been going for a decade,' one disgruntled fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
'Am I just getting old or does the Coachella lineup continue to get worse every year?' asked another as a third sighed: 'What a garbage lineup.'
'There has ever been a worse Coachella lineup in the history of the festival... and I'm really not one for hating on Coachella,' wrote still another.
One waggish X user joked: 'This lineup looks like someone left their iPhone on shuffle at a college party and called it a festival.'
Carpenter is also hot off the heels of the release of her seventh studio album Man's Best Friend , which bowed August 29 , debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 .