Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th season this year and will air its 969th episode Sept. 28.
Not slowing down
The season premiere will be hosted by Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll. In addition to the standard episodes hosted by celebrity guests and featuring musical acts, the series will also have several months of acknowledgments, leading to a three-hour celebratory 50th anniversary special retrospective on February 16, 2025,
The creator
Lorne Michaels was born in Toronto in 1944. He was involved with comedy theater in college before he moved to Los Angeles in his mid-20s to write for comedy shows. In 1974 he was asked to write and produce SNL.
In the first season, Michaels appeared on camera twice. The first time he offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. The second time, a month later, he upped his offer to $3,200 with free hotel accommodations.
Michaels left the show in 1980 but returned in 1985.
The beginnings
In 1974, NBC aired “The Weekend Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Carson wanted to change his schedule so NBC, under the guidance of Dick Ebersol, hired producer Lorne Michaels to create a 90-minute sketch variety show.
The show was called “NBC’s Saturday Night” for the first two seasons because a show titled “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” was on ABC in 1975. Cosell’s show, which aired at 8 p.m., flopped, and NBC took the name “Saturday Night Live.”
The first show featured host comedian George Carlin and two musical guests, Billy Preston and Janis Ian.
The cast and writers were mostly from The Second City improvisational comedy group or worked at National Lampoon.
The first season had 24 episodes, the most of any season, and went on to become one of the most influential comedy shows in U.S. history.
There have been more than 160 cast members, many of whom have gone on to movie stardom.
The show has won 101 Primetime Emmy Awards, 3 Peabody Awards, and 5 Writers Guild of America Awards.
A new movie
A film about the first episode is being released on Oct. 11, the same date on which “Saturday Night Live” began in 1975. Here’s what Columbia Pictures says about the R rated film:
“At 11:30 p.m. on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television — and culture — forever. Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words.”
Sources: NBC, Rolling Stone, Box Office Mojo, Internet Movie Database, The Associated Press, History.com