'Saturday Night Live' Will Continue Airing Live Coast to Coast

Photo of Ryan Gosling: Getty Images

Saturday Night Live will still be live coast-to-coast when the show returns later this month, NBC confirmed on Tuesday.

SNL tested live airings for the West Coast with its final three episodes last season. The sketch comedy series saw a huge ratings bump last season as the show navigated the 2016 election and Donald Trump's first months in the White House.

"SNL is part of the national conversation,” NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statement ahead of the test episodes earlier this year. "We thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the West and Mountain time zones live at the same time it’s being seen in the East and Central time zones."

The news follows SNL's big Emmys win on Sunday, as the show walked away with nine awards, including Supporting Actress and Actor wins for Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin, who played Hillary Clinton and Trump, respectively.

As we previously reported, Ryan Gosling will host the season 43 premiere with musical guest Jay-Z, airing live at 11:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. PST.