Saturday Night Live is making a big deal out of its 50th anniversary. There have been multiple documentaries, a film and, this weekend, three special events: a concert that will be live-streamed, a re-broadcast of the show's first episode and an anniversary special.
"One of the reasons SNL is still so important is because it's one of the few things left in entertainment that feels like an event," said Robert Smigel, a veteran writer and producer on Saturday Night Live who's worked on past specials.
"Part of it is obviously, you know, the topicality and the sketches, what's going to go right, what's going to go wrong. But with the musical acts, same thing."
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey visited Jimmy Fallon to talk about the special events and to reminisce about their time as cast members:
Friday: SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert celebrates SNL's legacy of musical performances. It's hosted by Jimmy Fallon and includes Bad Bunny, Cher, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ms. Lauryn Hill, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The B-52s, among many others.
HOW TO WATCH: The concert will be live Friday at Radio City Music Hall, will stream live on Peacock at 8 p.m. EST, and will play in select IMAX theaters around the country, with tickets free and first-come-first-serve.
Saturday: The first episode
NBC is rebroadcasting the Oct. 11, 1975, episode that started it all — back when it was called Saturday Night. It was hosted by George Carlin and featured Billy Preston and Janis Ian as the musical guests (and included a guest appearance by Andy Kaufman … and The Muppets!).
A fictional version of the making of this episode was released last fall.
Here's a sketch from that first episode, "The Wolverines," featuring John Belushi:
HOW TO WATCH: The first Saturday Night episode will be broadcast at 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday on NBC and Peacock. An encore broadcast of Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music airs just beforehand, at 8 p.m. EST.
SUNDAY: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
The anniversary special is a live, three-hour telecast featuring such cast alumni as Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan and Will Ferrell, as well as celebrities like Adam Driver and musicians like Paul Simon. NBC says on its website that it will feature "a half-century worth of sketches, cast members, hosts and other collaborators."
HOW TO WATCH: SNL50: The Anniversary Special airs live at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday on NBC and Peacock.
It follows a red-carpet special hosted by TV personality Willie Geist and former SNL cast member Leslie Jones that airs at 7 p.m. EST on NBC, E! and Peacock. The red carpet will also be available on SNL's YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok pages.
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