Who is Veronika Slowikowska? All about the new addition to SNL season 51

Veronika Slowikowska will perform a comedy set at Studio 8H as a featured player on Saturday Night Live season 51, premiering October 4, 2025. Born in Barrie, Ontario, and raised by Polish immigrant parents, Veronika Slowikowska has finally found her voice mark in the comedy community through her distinctive brand of a sharp-sounding joke and stereotypically relatable, everyday mannerisms. So much so that she garnered over a million followers on Instagram and close to 700,000 followers on TikTok. Her journey, beginning in the Canadian comedy scene in Toronto, to the worthy stages and late-night American experience of SNL in New York, is illustrative of her skill and dedication. 

Originally, Slowikowska was found by SNL in Toronto, where she had finished training and graduated in 2015 from Randolph College for the Performing Arts, and graduated from the Canadian Film Centre’s Actors’ Conservatory in 2020. She had started to gain traction with social media viral sketches, often with comedian Kyle Chase (some of their videos have reached 20 million+ views) . Her quirky, character-based humour (e.g. eccentric New Yorkers or an exasperated office worker) made her an interesting fit for the SNL Casting team, and she was selected for one of five new featured players for Season 2025.

SNL season 51: A new chapter for Veronika Slowikowska

SNL (and STN, for that matter), established in 1975 by Lorne Michaels, is a cultural institution that blends sketch comedy and social-political topicality. Season 51 kicked off with Slowikowska as a new cast member, and others like Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, and Kam Patterson! Several cast members, notably Heidi Gardner, have left the show. As we understand, Slowikowska is a featured player, but she is still a cast member and has gained recognition for memorable off-kilter character work on the show.

As a comic creator from a digital native perspective via TikTok, we could expect new looks and feels from someone who could create viral moments with SNL's unique cold opens or Weekend Update segments. And her improvisation and musicality may lead to memorable performances for musical sketches or parody-based sketches.

Prior to SNL, Slowikowska worked in both Canadian and American productions. She had the role of Shanice in five episodes of FX's horror-comedy What We Do in the Shadows (2019-20) and brought her typical deadpan charm to the mockumentary about vampires. She played Kelly in season 2 of Netflix's Tires (2025), with Shane Gillis, and appeared in Canadian comedy Davey & Jonesie's Locker (2024), a sci-fi comedy. She was in two films—comedy-drama I Like Movies (2022) and romcom EXmas (2023). In smaller roles, Slowikowska showcased her versatility in Poker Face and Clarice. She demonstrated her musical talent with singles such as “So Many Lies” and “Homesick,” both featured on The Heartland Network.

Veronika Slowikowska will make her Saturday Night Live debut when season 51 premieres on October 4, 2025, at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Fans can also stream the episodes on Peacock the next day.

Stay tuned for more such updates!