SNL 50

Saturday Night Live or “SNL” is a sketch comedy show, with a celebrity host as well as a musical guest. The show started in 1975 and is still being produced today. SNL has had many big anniversaries but this year marks the 50th season of SNL. The basic formula for the show has worked and therefore stayed the same for decades and generally runs like this.

The show starts with an opening monologue performed by a celebrity guest. It is followed by a series of sketches including the celebrity guest as well as other cast members. After that, the musical guest’s first performance is introduced by the celebrity host. After the musical guest is Weekend Update. Weekend Update is the only recurring sketch that continues from season to season. Weekend Update is hosted by two anchors who take turns making jokes about what happened in the world that week, as well as intervening celebrities and objects played by cast members. 

There is a long list of amazing Weekend Update hosts but currently, the hosts are Colin Jost and Michael Che. Following Weekend Update are a few sketches. After that is the musical guest’s second performance. Next are a few more sketches, and the ending which involves every cast member and person involved in the show that week coming up on stage and waving and talking while the credits play. There can be a few changes to this order like how sometimes they open the show with a sketch instead of a monologue but this is the regular way the show is run. 

SNL has been an important part of media culture for decades but how did it get that way? SNL started because Johnny Carson who hosted The Tonight Show at the time wanted one night off a week. NBC agreed and the Saturday night spot was forever taken by SNL from that point on. The purpose of SNL was to create a sketch comedy show different from the ones audiences had seen before. They wanted to create a show where they could openly joke about politics and controversial topics. This was a risky thing to do because audiences had never seen jokes like that told in such a mainstream way. 

In a way, SNL was the first time audiences were introduced to a darker sense of humor. The show had finally found its footing a few seasons in the 1970s but was ready to try new ideas. In the 1980s they started changing out the cast periodically. Fans disliked this change at first but eventually came to accept it. In the 80s the show was failing as it took a different approach than it did in the 70s it’s only through performers like Eddie Murphy and sketches like “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” that pulled SNL out of its rut. Because of this, SNL’s 1984-1985 season was one of their best. It was also during the 80s that recurring character sketches would frequent shows like Mary Kathran-Gallager and The Church Lady.  During the 70s and 80s, SNL was also in a battle with NBC even leaving and coming back. But eventually, NBC caved into what the team SNL wanted, which was a hiatus.
From that point on SNL has always taken a hiatus every so often. In the 90s SNL was still trying to figure out the casting process as older prominent cast members left and new ones appeared and were revered to that prominent status. The 1994 -1995 season was considered one of their worst but was eventually saved by the new wave of cast members coming in. The 2000s was a great era for SNL, the show was known for its hilarious depictions of political candidates that kept audiences coming back to tune in every Saturday night. It was revered as the best era for SNL since its debut in the 70s. This was also the decade that they started to rely more on prerecorded sketches. 

The 2010s essentially rode the same wave as the 2000s, hiring more iconic cast members and focusing more on political sketches. The 2020s halted SNL’s popularity due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the need to quarantine. SNL still made content over the internet but it was not nearly the same as the elaborate sets, hair makeup, and costumes audiences were used to. The show eventually picked back up and started to become more mainstream with a different audience. It wasn’t until the 2010s and 2020s that SNL became able to be viewed outside of just the one time you saw it on TV. Because Of this SNL started to reach younger audiences through platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This also gave older fans a place to watch some of their favorite sketches again. 

Even though this new way of reaching audiences is working, is it enough? Lorne Micheals, the showrunner or “head” of SNL, has speculated that their 50th Sedona might be SNL’s last. Even though the future of SNL is uncertain, the success of the show is unparalleled by any other show out there. And that is in part due to the amazing teams they have that put the show together in such a short amount of time. But that also is because of the amazing talent they have as cast members. It is an unspoken rule that if you want to be a comedic actor then you have to get on SNL. This was first made apparent in the first cast which consisted of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, and George Coe. These actors went on to become big stars but they weren’t the only ones. 

SNL has made stars out of almost everyone in their cast throughout their many seasons some of the more recognizable names include. Eddie Murphy, Will Farell, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd, Amy Polar, Bill Hader, Kristin Wig, Chevy Chase, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Martin Short, David Spade, Billy Crystal, Jason Sedakis, Jimmy Fallon, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Rob Schnieder, Tim Meadows, Julia Louis-Dreyfess, Ben Stiller, Pete Davidson and Robert-Downey Jr. This is how many of the actors listed above got their start in comedy. 

SNL is continuing to make stars out of their cast members. Their current cast consists of Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker, Bowen Yang, Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, Jane Wickline. Many of these people have gone to do movies and TV which is due in part to their work on SNL.

Everyone has their “cast” or the cast they grew up watching most. Mr. Pries shares his “cast” “Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Nora Dunn, Victoria Jackson, Dennis Miller” There are also many famous names that auditioned for SNL and didn’t make the cut and then went on to make a career for themselves like Jennifer Coolidge and Donald Glover to name a few. 

Aside from the actors, SNL has also made stars out of their writers. A lot of the cast members also double as writers, some get hired as a cast member and then get hired as a writer or vice versa. Some of the famous exclusive writers on SNL include Larry David, Conan O’Brian, Bob Odenkirk, Stephen Colbaret, John Mulaney, and Steve Higgins. 

Another place to make history on SNL was as a musical guest. Many musical guests have had career-breaking and making performances on SNL. For example, Shanaid O’Connor tore up a picture of the pope at the end of her musical guest performance to protest the sexual abuse in the catholic church that was being brought to life at the time. This essentially ended her career. Another controversial moment was when Kanye gave an impromptu political speech at the end of his episode which was unbeknownst to the cast. There are many more examples of scandals coming out of SNL musical performances but the majority of the performances go off without a hit, it’s just unfortunate that it’s the controversial ones we remember. 

The cast and musical guests are a big part of what makes SNL special but it’s not the biggest part. The biggest part is the sketches. There have been many famous SNL sketches that have gone on to life as catchphrases and Halloween costumes. Some sketches resonate with younger and older generations. There are a lot of reasons as to why this happens like new celebrities, new content to make fun of, etc. But no matter how old you are, SNL will always make people laugh. Some of the most famous sketches that older generations would know are. Schweddy Balls, Debby downer, Chippendales, Cowbell, Van by the River, Stefan, Wayne’s World, D**k in a box, King Tut, Mary Kathran Gallager, Church Lady, Sweater Weather, Sally O Malley. These are classic skits that have gone on to have a life of their own. 

Some of these sketches were so popular with audiences that they ended up making movies inspired by these recurring sketches. These movies are Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne’s World (1992), Coneheads (1993), Wayne’s World 2 (1993), It’s Pat (1994), Stuart Saves His Family (1995), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Superstar (1999), The Ladies Man (2000), MacGruber (2010). Some of these movies went on to be critically acclaimed and loved by audiences like The Blues Brothers. Even though these sketches and movies are hilarious they don’t resonate as much with younger audiences. Some sketches that younger audiences would recognize are Tiny Horse, Domingo, Jason, Beves and Butthead, Kamala political sketches, Troy Savion, Rap Roundtable, and New Barista Training. 

As you can see SNL has been beloved for decades with the cast and crew still continuing to make audiences laugh. SNL has been full of ups and downs but at the end of the day, it’s one of the funniest and complicated shows of all time. It was even so popular that other countries made their own version of SNL. Because of this popularity, there have been a lot of new projects that SNL has been making to celebrate these 50 years. 

One thing they did to celebrate was make a movie about SNL and its process. “Saturday Night” the movie follows Lorne Michaels SNL’s producer and showrunner as he and the rest of the team try to put on their first broadcast in 1975. It casts actors that look like the original cast members as the movie follows them during the time leading up to the show. This movie has been well received as fans were very excited about this movie idea and knew it was in the works for a while, it is now streaming on Netflix. 

Another one of these projects was a documentary titled “SNL 50 Beyond Saturday Night” This documentary was split into 4 episodes. The 1st is titled “Five Minutes” which is about the auditioning process and the five minutes they have to make people laugh, they play many old auditions from famous performers for themselves and their team members to laugh at. It is very interesting to watch because you are seeing where they started and where they ended up. The second episode is titled “More Cowbell” and follows the story of SNL’s arguably most famous sketch, the Cowbell sketch. The third episode is titled “Written By: A Week Inside the SNL Writers Room”. This episode focuses on the writers and the crazy deadlines they have to meet to be able to write something and have it on stage in less than a week. The fourth and final episode is titled “Season 11: The Weird Year”. This episode follows the cast and Lorne Micheals as they figure out how to recover from this awful season that they had just had. This documentary opens audiences’ eyes to what it takes to put on a show like this and just how many people it takes to make something as quality as SNL every week. 

Aside from this documentary, there was another documentary titled “Ladies and Gentlemen 50 Years of SNL Music”. This documentary highlights the many iconic and controversial performances to take place on SNL. Along with this is another project titled “SNL 50 The Homecoming Concert” which will feature a live comedy special with many of the stars of SNL. This concert is set to take place on February 14th at 7:00 PM. All of these projects as well as SNL itself are now streaming on Peacock.

It is very clear to see that SNL is loved and appreciated by many. It is a show that families gather around and watch as a tradition and a show that friends can quote for days. It is amazing how SNL has transcended through so many decades and has been iconic in media culture. As much as there is still much love for SNL as made apparent through the celebration projects and how much audiences enjoyed them. The truth is there SNL isn’t as needed as it used to be. 

It used to be that SNL was the only place where you could laugh about all the ridiculous things going on in the world, but now any person can record themselves making jokes like that and have it still reach people. SNL was a “water cooler conversation” and now that all of the internet is a “water cooler conversation” we don’t have that need to all watch the same thing and talk about it like people used to do. Junior Anna Williams comments on whether she will continue to watch SNL after its 50th season. “For sure there’s nothing like it. While it has its flaws, and I’m not ashamed to talk about them, as someone who has been watching for a long time. It’s still so unique, especially in how it puts time capsules on celebrity moments and with how much goes into the show on the technical side.”  

Even though this is the reality SNL is facing, SNL is still a TV show like no other. There is no other show in the world where you are writing something on Monday and watching it live on Saturday. SNL is so unique, and so even though the type of humor isn’t exclusive to SNL anymore, the format of the show is. And that is something that I think fans have grown to love as well as just the jokes and celebrity guests. Since SNL makes jokes about current events they will also never run out of ideas which is something that other long-running shows don’t have the luxury of having.

SNL helps us joke about things that we find uncomfortable and scary in such a funny way that although that humor is relevant today it will never capture it the same way SNL. There is no show like Saturday Night Live and there will never be one like it again which just cements its place in history more than it already has as it is a time capsule of decades that have since passed us and cultural events that we can learn more about through SNL. That along with other reasons is why SNL is so important.

Someone who perfectly summarizes the importance of SNL and how it is used as a time capsule is Mr. Grandgenett. “SNL is pop culture. Skits are done that poke at American society/politics of the day. The hosts and musical acts are big stars of the day. Some go on to be HUGE stars and come back multiple times. Some were maybe a flash in the pan and only appeared once, but they did it and it was reflective of our culture at the time. I think you should be able to go back and watch reruns and get exactly a feel of what the country was at that moment in time. And for them to be doing this for 50 years, that is incredible.”  No matter what happens to the future of SNL though, it will never discredit the thousands of laughs and stars it gave audiences for decades. 

Graphic by Noa Nyguard using Canva