Bill Hader in the original ‘Alan’ skit for ‘Saturday Night Live.’ (NBC)
The 50th anniversary celebration of Saturday Night Live is so big, it’s not even on Saturday.
Airing Sunday and spanning three hours, the, yes, live SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration will assemble a dream team of stars who have helped the show become an enduring pop culture force, including alumni like Tina Fey and Eddie Murphy, notable hosts like Dave Chappelle and Steve Martin and at least four of the surviving original cast members: Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.
The show will also pack in musical guests, with Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Miley Cyrus among those scheduled to appear, as well. The special is double the usual 90 minutes of each SNL episode.
With so much television and comedy history to cover, here are some key things to know about the SNL50 show.
When is the ‘SNL’ 50th anniversary tribute show?
NBC will air SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration on Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific.
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The anniversary show will also stream on Peacock.
Which ‘SNL’ alums are slated to appear?
Oh, so many. NBC says in addition to Murphy, Fey and some of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, you can expect: Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and Will Forte. Current cast member Kenan Thompson’s appearance was also touted.
Ramy Youssef and Bowen Yang in SNL’s 2024 ‘Tiny Desk’ sketch spoofing the NPR concert series. (SNL/ YouTube)
Which notable hosts will appear on ‘SNL50’?
Martin, who has left an indelible comedic mark on SNL over the years, will be among the many successful hosts returning for the show’s 50th celebration.
Other prolific and returning hosts range from actors like Tom Hanks, Martin Short, and Scarlett Johansson (who is married to current SNL cast member Colin Jost) to athletes like Peyton Manning. Former SNL writer John Mulaney will appear, as will Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Kim Kardashian, Paul Simon, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro and Woody Harrelson.
Is there a regular edition of ‘Saturday Night Live’ this week?
No, the show is on a break this week. Timothée Chalamet hosted the most recent Saturday Night Live broadcast, on Jan. 25. He did double duty, performing Bob Dylan songs — Chalamet plays Dylan in the Oscar-nominated film A Complete Unknown and spent years preparing for the role.
But fans tuning in Saturday night during the regular time slot can see the show’s very first episode, from October 1975 and hosted by George Carlin, beginning at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and 8:30 p.m. Pacific.
What musical guests will appear during the ‘SNL’ 50th anniversary tributes?
Music is a huge part of “SNL” and a mix of global artists are scheduled to make an appearance on SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration. It’s important to note that NBC hasn’t specifically said artists like McCartney, Cyrus, Bad Bunny and others will perform.
Lovers of music on SNL have other chances to celebrate. NBC has scheduled SNL50: The Homecoming Concert for Friday night. It’ll stream live on Peacock, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific.
The Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Jack White, Cyrus, Robyn, Bonnie Raitt are some of the planned performances.
The musical legacy of SNL is also explored in the documentary Ladies and Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music, from Oscar-winner Questlove. It’s currently streaming on Peacock.
“Watching SNL those first seasons gave me a musical vocabulary that I don’t think would have happened on its own,” he told the Associated Press last month before the special aired.
Tom Schiller, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin, as seen in the documentary in ‘Love, Gilda.’ (Courtesy Magnolia Pictures)
Who was in the first ‘SNL’ cast and why won’t all of them appear?
The first Saturday Night Live cast was known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players and consisted of Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Jane Curtin.
Radner and Belushi have since died. Aykroyd’s absence from the list of returning cast members was unclear, though he posted enthusiastically about the 50th anniversary on social media last week. Aykroyd’s publicist did not return the AP’s request for comment.
As part of its anniversary celebration, Peacock is streaming a four-part documentary series, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, about the show.
Will there be a red carpet?
It’s fitting that the anniversary special falls smack in the middle of awards season, because it definitely sounds like an awards show — three hours, on a Sunday … and with a red carpet, to boot.
SNL50: The Red Carpet will air live on NBC, Peacock and E!, the network announced Thursday. Beginning at 7 p.m Eastern, the carpet show will be hosted by SNL alum Leslie Jones and NBC News’ Willie Geist. Matt Rogers, an actor and comedian who co-hosts the podcast Las Culturistas with SNL cast member Bowen Yang, will serve as a correspondent.
Amelia Dimoldenberg of Chicken Shop Date fame — no stranger to red-carpet correspondency — will report from the red carpet for the SNL50: Red Carpet Livestream on SNL social and digital platforms.
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