The Golden Anniversary of Saturday Night Live

Dana Carvey, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolph, and Jim Gaffigan perform as political figures for the premiere episode of SNL. | Rosalind O’Connor/NBC

     Known for its hugely popular comedy sketches and long list of famous cast members, the award-winning comedy variety show Saturday Night Live is fast approaching its 50th season, making it one of the longest-running television shows.

The very first episode of SNL (then called just “Saturday Night”) aired on NBC on October 11, 1975. The show was created and is still produced by TV writer and film producer, Lorne Michaels.

Throughout the years, the show has produced several notable skits (some even becoming movies, like “Wayne’s World” and “The Blues Brothers”), as well as several big names such as Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell.

Releasing on the 50th anniversary of SNL’s first episode will be a film called “Saturday Night,” featuring a cast consisting of Rachel Sennott, Kaia Gerber, Finn Wolfhard, and more. They will be playing as the first season’s main cast, as the plot is said to revolve around the night of the very first SNL broadcast.

Dedicated solely to the celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary, however, is a live, three-hour primetime special set to be aired on February 16 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET (5 p.m. to 8 p.m. PST) on NBC.

No information has yet been provided on the specifics of the event, but the show will include a wide variety of guests, musical performances, and entertainment.

However, before that is the beginning of SNL’s 50th season. The upcoming season of the show will feature many of the same players as in season 49, with cast members Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearny, and Chloe Troast departing their roles. There will also be three new players: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline.

Aired on NBC on Sept. 28 at 8:30pm PST, the premiere episode was hosted by actress Jean Smart and musical guest, Jelly Roll. The “cold open” skit featured a comedic take on the presidential candidate campaigns, Maya Rudolph making a return for her impersonation of Vice President Kamala Harris, along with comedians Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, and Bowen Yang as J.D. Vance.

The episode also featured several new skits, such as the “Spirit Halloween Ad,” Bowen Yang’s impersonation of viral Thailand pygmy baby hippo, Moo Deng, and the “Charli XCX ‘talk talk’ Show.”

The second episode of the season featured comedian host Nate Bargatze returning to a few fan-favorite skits from his time hosting last season, as well as musical guest Coldplay. The episode was aired live on NBC, on Oct. 5.

The upcoming host list includes singer Ariana Grande with musical guest Stevie Nicks on Oct. 12, actor Michael Keaton and musical guest Billie Eilish on Oct. 19, and comedian John Mulaney with musical guest Chappell Roan on Nov. 2.

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