On Sept. 27 Saturday Night Live will have its season premier that will celebrate its 40th year on the air. The show will be marked by a gala prime-time celebration, NBC announced Wednesday.

Christ Pratt, the rising comedic actor and star of NBC's, "Parks and Recreation," as well as the biggest movie of the summer, "Guardians of the Galaxy," has been confirmed as the first host of the new season of Saturday Night Live. Ariana Grande will join Pratt, coming off of her album "My Everything," which has been burning up the Billboard charts for the past several weeks.

The second episode of Saturday Night Live this season will be hosted by popular alumna of the show, Sarah Silverman. Silverman appeared on the show during the 1993-94 season and is coming off of a win at the Emmy Awards for her HBO special "We Are Miracles." She will return to the show to host on Oct. 4 along with musical guest Maroon 5. Adam Levine is the lead singer for the band and also has his own popular show on NBC, "The Voice." This will be Maroon 5's fifth appearance on the series. 

Fans can expect some changes coming to the show this season, including the replacement of Don Pardo, the show's announcer for nearly all of its past seasons. Pardo died last month.

SNL has been in political news recently. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has said that a proposed campaign finance amendment from the Senate, if passed, would prohibit corporations engaging in political speech. According to Cruz, this measure could end SNL's signature trait of political satire.

SNL has not publicly announced their backing of Cruz and his case, but if nothing else, it is a safe bet that a sketch of the situation may very well be on its way.

NBC will celebrate Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary with a three hour special on Feb. 15.