alex. it's almost like deja vu, with the rapid rise in covid cases forcing the country to take extra precautions. last night, "snl" still put on a show, but they featured a limited cast, no musical performance, and no live audience, similar to what we saw at the beginning of the pandemic. >> reporter: rising covid cases being blamed for major disruptions all across the country, even "saturday night live". >> whoa! where is everybody? >> kenan, haven't you heard? >> heard what? about that thing that's going around? >> yeah, covid. >> is that real? >> reporter: the show deciding there would be no live audience due to a recent spike in the omicron variant. the last-minute changes cut out the musical get charli xcx who tweeted, i am devastated and heartbroken. the wave is stretching into the sports wave, too. nine brooklyn nets players have entered the nba's health and safety protocols, while the nfl postponed three games this