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So much can change in 50 years — laws, norms, people. But the comedic relief Saturday Night Live provides to those who tune in for the late-night television variety show remains the same.

On Sunday, the over-three-hour 50th anniversary episode, titled “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” reaffirmed SNL’s prominence in today’s pop culture while praising the rich historical impact the show has had for generations.

SNL aired live for the first time from the National Broadcasting Channel studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on Oct. 11, 1975. The sketch comedy show started with a cast full of young amateurs performing countercultural comedic skits, but has since evolved into a defining part of mainstream American culture.

Before it produced household names in comedy — Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, Jimmy Fallon and Bill Murray — SNL was just a cast with relatively unknown players who soon became A-list celebrities, like John Belushi, Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd.

Even with a sharp rise in streaming services, SNL has survived. Sunday’s special proved the show can thrive in a digital culture where viewing techniques and practices differ from those of when it was created. Unlike the pilot episode of season one, where viewers could only watch SNL and its skits live through broadcast television, I signed into the Peacock app on my iPad 30 minutes after the special began and rewinded to the beginning to watch it.

Despite the changing technology and mode of consumption from 1975 to now, the main theme of the anniversary special seemed to bridge the gap between the old and new coming together. It was like a time capsule, where 50 years of culture was released all at once.

Sunday’s special also brought back legendary alumni and reveled in the history and legacy of the classic late-night show. Its legacy has been defined by live comedy sketches, commercial/news parodies and celebrity monologues that poke fun at popular culture. Classic musical performances like David Bowie in 1979, Taylor Swift in 2021 and Kendrick Lamar in 2014 have defined cultural moments.

Hannah Mesa | Design Editor

The special opened with a rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” performed by two stars: Paul Simon and pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Simon sang on the show in 1976 alongside George Harrison while both were already living legends.

On Sunday, he performed with a musician of a completely different genre (and far younger generation) than his original duet partner. In this sentimental performance, Carpenter and Simon’s stellar connection was evident despite the gap in age, bridging a generational gap.

Sunday’s celebration featured plenty of other high-profile acts; Lil Wayne performed a five-song medley, Paul McCartney played three tunes from the classic Beatles album, “Abbey Road,” and Miley Cyrus alongside Brittany Howard and The Roots sang “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

Airing live from New York (as usual), Steve Martin, who has hosted the show 16 times, the second-most ever behind Alec Baldwin’s 17, performed the opening monologue. While the monologue represented the good and bad times of SNL, it also touched on the same notion that Carpenter and Simon accepted in their introduction: we’re all aging whether we like it or not.

Martin acknowledged that he turned 79 this year while the show turned 50, and asked the audience about his appearance now that he has hearing aids. He then dove into morbid humor to complement his references to senility.

“A person born during the first season of ‘Saturday Night Live’ could today be easily dead of natural causes,” Martin said.

It makes sense that Martin was chosen to give the opening monologue, considering how often he’s done it in the past. It was captivating. Usually, you might get bored with only one person talking at you for a while, but my eyes were glued to the screen.

Martin was joined onstage by John Mulaney and longtime friend and co-star Martin Short. Mulaney, a frequent host and former writer of the show, made a joke that included fun facts about the show’s history.

“Over the course of 50 years, 894 people have hosted ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Mulaney said. “And it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder.”

Short — “the only Canadian who wasn’t in ‘Schitt’s Creek,’” Martin joked — added that he and Martin were meant to host together. Martin demanded that Short be dragged off the stage by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers when he admitted to not having his passport on him, a satire of recent immigration policy.

SNL has always been political in nature. By paying tribute to recent events, SNL has stayed relevant through years of political and cultural changes. My most fond memories of SNL skits are those mimicking impressions of presidential candidates, like Baldwin’s signature Donald Trump impressions.

Other performances in the special included a mini-musical sketch by Mulaney and Pete Davidson that featured parodies of songs from iconic movies and musicals such as “Les Misérables,” “The Lion King,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Fame” and “Hamilton.” Even Lin-Manuel Miranda made an appearance on stage.

The sketch brought viewers through New York City’s history in the last 50 years, subtly hinting at the cultural and political changes that have taken place, like New York’s gentrification through the ‘80s and ‘90s, as well as Broadway hits over the decades.

Moments like these are part of why people tune in to watch SNL every Saturday night; the wittiness and discrete references make the jokes relatable. But they also allow different generations to connect on a deeper level with one another; your grandparents, siblings and little cousins can all engage with these cultural touchstones.

A defining SNL bit, Weekend Update — a parody of a broadcast news segment — will never get old. Born in 1975, original anchor Chevy Chase pioneered a mock television skit that would discretely deliver jokes about American politics, pop culture, presidents, global crises and even everyday habits.

Fifty years later, headliners Colin Jost and Michael Che continue the segment’s legacy and successfully deliver commentary about modern news developments. They entice the audience in the same way that Chase did in 1975.

Other appearances at the desk included conversations with former cast members and their iconic roles, such as Cecily Strong as “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party” and Bobby Moynihan as “Drunk Uncle.” Weekend Update alumnus Seth Meyers joined the desk to speak with “Lorne’s Best Friends from Growing Up” (Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer), and Bill Murray ranked his “Top 10 anchors of Weekend Update,” leaving out Jost and Che.

Though the anniversary special lasted upwards of three hours (far too long to sustain my short attention span), the nostalgic bits that touched on the history of the show kept me entertained. Though I wasn’t alive for many of those nostalgic moments, SNL brought me on a trip down memory lane, allowing me to relate with the generations that came before me.

Murray with Jost and Che was indicative of the old and the new coming together, just like Simon and Carpenter, Mulaney and Martin. The timeless content, unchanging sketches, legendary alumni network and the fact that the show has both a television and on-demand audience is why SNL still attracts immense attention — a testament to its survival.

Published on February 19, 2025 at 12:18 am

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