Cast

The original 1975 cast, from left to right: Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase

The original 1975 cast of SNL, titled "The Not Ready For Prime-Time Players",^[45][46] a term coined by writer Herb Sargent,^[47] included Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase. Radner was the first person hired after Michaels himself. Although Chase became a performer, he was hired on a one-year writer contract and refused to sign the performer contract that was repeatedly given to him, allowing him to leave the show after the first season in 1976.^[48] Newman was brought aboard after having a prior working relationship with Michaels.^[49] Morris was initially brought in as a writer, but attempts to have him fired by another writer led Michaels to have Morris audition for the cast, where he turned in a successful performance.^[50] Curtin and Belushi were the last two cast members hired.^[49] Belushi had a disdain for television and had repeatedly turned down offers to appear on other shows, but decided to work with the show because of the involvement of Radner and writers Anne Beatts and Michael O'Donoghue.^[51] Michaels was still reluctant to hire Belushi, believing he would be a source of trouble for the show, but Beatts, O'Donoghue, and Ebersol successfully argued for his inclusion.^[51]

After Chase left the show, he was replaced by Bill Murray, whom Michaels had intended to hire for the first-season cast but was unable to because of budget restrictions.^[52] When Chase returned to host in 1978, he found the remaining cast resentful at his departure and his success, particularly Belushi. Murray, goaded by the rest of the cast, and Chase came to blows shortly before the show.^[53] Chase's departure for film made Michaels possessive of his talent; he threatened to fire Aykroyd if he took the role of D-Day in the 1978 comedy Animal House and later refused to allow SNL musician Paul Shaffer to participate in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Aykroyd and Belushi after they left in 1979 to pursue film careers.^[54][55] Michaels began to struggle to hold the remaining cast together in the wake of Chase, Aykroyd, and Belushi's independent successes. Radner had a one-woman Broadway show and Murray starred in the 1979 comedy Meatballs.^[56] In 1980 Michaels chose to leave the series to pursue other interests and was replaced by Doumanian, who wanted to give the show a fresh start with a new cast and writing staff.^[57] Michaels was followed out the door by the remaining original cast, Curtin, Newman, Radner, Morris, Murray, and additional cast members.^[55]

The Doumanian-era cast faced immediate comparison to the beloved former cast and was not received favorably.^[27] Ebersol fired the majority of her hires, except for two unknown comedians: Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo.^[58] Talent coordinator Neil Levy claimed Murphy contacted and pleaded with him for a role on the show and, after seeing him audition, Levy fought with Doumanian to cast him instead of Robert Townsend. Doumanian wanted only one black cast member and favored Townsend, but Levy convinced her to choose Murphy. Doumanian also claimed credit for discovering Murphy and fighting with NBC executives to bring him onto the show.^[59] Even so, Murphy would languish as a background character until Ebersol took charge,^[60] after which Murphy was credited with much of that era's success.^[61][62] Murphy's star exploded, and he quickly appeared in films such as 48 Hrs. and Trading Places, before leaving for his film career in early 1984. Much of the Ebersol cast departed after the 1983–84 season and were replaced with established comedians who could supply their own material, but at an inflated cost; Billy Crystal and Martin Short were paid $25,000 and $20,000 per episode, respectively, far more than earlier salaries.^[29] Michaels's return in 1985 saw a cast reset that featured talent such as Robert Downey Jr., Jon Lovitz, and Dennis Miller.^[63] The season was poorly received, and another reset followed in 1986. Michaels kept Lovitz, Miller, and Nora Dunn, and brought in new, untested talent such as Conan O'Brien, Robert Smigel, Greg Daniels, Bob Odenkirk, Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, and Jan Hooks, who together would define a new era on the show into the early 1990s.^[64]

In 1989–90 new talent such as Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley was added. Afraid of cast members leaving for film careers, Michaels had overcrowded the cast, causing a divide between the veteran members and the new, younger talent, increasing competition for limited screen time.^[65] By 1995, Carvey and Hartman had left, taking with them a virtual army of characters; Myers quit for his movie career, and increasing network pressure forced Michaels to fire Sandler and Farley. The show saw its next major overhaul, bringing in a largely new cast including Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri and Darrell Hammond. Within a few years Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey also joined the cast.^[66] While cast members would leave over the following two decades, the show saw its next biggest transition in 2013, with the addition of six cast members to compensate for the departure of several longtime cast members like Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Armisen.^[67] Its next biggest transition happened nearly a decade later in 2022, when the show hired four new cast members, in the wake of the departures of 8 cast members, including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, and Aidy Bryant.^[68]

As of Season 49, SNL has featured 164 cast members including, besides the above-mentioned players, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, David Spade, Will Forte, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tracy Morgan, Chris Parnell, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Molly Shannon, Kristen Wiig, and many others. Kenan Thompson is the show's longest-serving cast member. Thompson first joined the series in 2003 and has been on the show for twenty years.^[69] Those selected to join the cast of SNL are normally already accomplished performers, recruited from improvisational comedy groups such as The Groundlings (Newman, Ferrell, Hartman,^[70] Lovitz, Wiig^[71]) and The Second City (Aykroyd, Farley, Fey,^[72] Tim Meadows), or established stand-up comedians (Carvey, Sandler, Rock, Norm Macdonald), who already possess the training or experience necessary for SNL.^[73]

Of the many roles available in the show, one of the longest-running and most coveted is being the host of Weekend Update, a segment featuring one or two hosts, who get substantial screen time performing as themselves. Many of the Weekend Update hosts have gone on to find greater success outside the show, including Chase, Curtin, Murray, Miller, Macdonald,^[74] Fey, Fallon,^[75] and Poehler. From 2008, Seth Meyers was the solo host of Weekend Update,^[76] before being partnered with Cecily Strong in 2013. After Meyers left for Late Night with Seth Meyers in February 2014, Strong was paired with head writer Colin Jost. However, later that year, she was replaced by writer Michael Che.^[77][78] In 2014, Sasheer Zamata was added as a cast member in mid-season after criticism of the show's lack of an African-American woman.^[79][80][81]

The cast is divided into two tiers: the more established group of repertory players; and newer, unproven cast members known as featured players, who may eventually be promoted to the repertory stable. Currently, the cast consists of 17 members, with 12 repertory players and 5 featured players.

The cast were often contracted from anywhere between five and six years to the show,^[84][85] but starting with the 1999–2000 season, new hires were tied to a rewritten contract that allowed NBC to take a cast member in at least their second year and put them in an NBC sitcom. Cast members are given the option of rejecting the first two sitcom offers but must accept the third offer, with the sitcom contract length dictated by NBC and potentially lasting up to six years.^[85] The move drew criticism from talent agents and managers who believed a cast member could be locked into a contract with NBC for twelve years; six on SNL and then six on a sitcom. The contract also optioned the cast member for three feature films produced by SNL Films, a company owned by NBC, Paramount Pictures, and Michaels. The new contracts were reportedly developed after many previously unknown cast, such as Mike Myers and Adam Sandler, gained fame on SNL only to leave and make money for other studios.^[85] In a 2010 interview, Wiig was reported to be contracted to SNL for a total of seven years.^[86] The contracts also contain a network option that allows NBC to remove a cast member at any time.^[87] In the first season of the show the cast was paid $750 per episode, rising to $2,000 by season two, and $4,000 by season four.^[88] By the late 1990s, new cast members received a salary between $5,000^[85] and $5,500 per episode, increasing to $6,000 in the second year and up to $12,500 for a cast member in their fifth year. Performers could earn an additional $1,500 per episode for writing a sketch that made it to air.^[87] In 2001, Ferrell became the highest-paid cast member, being paid $350,000 per season (approximately $17,500 per episode).^[89]

Writers

Showrunner Lorne Michaels

As of the 2022–23 season, Kent Sublette, Alison Gates, and Streeter Seidell are the show's co-head writers.^[90]

Seth Meyers became a co-head writer in 2005, became the single head writer from 2008 to 2012, and then left in 2014. The Weekend Update segment has its own dedicated team of writers led by head writer and producer Alex Baze as of the 2011–12 season.^[91][92][93] Scenes on Weekend Update that involve members of the cast acting in-character alongside the host are often written by staff writers outside the dedicated Weekend Update team, who know those characters better.^[93]

Colin Jost has been a writer since 2005 and was one of the head writers from 2012 to 2015 before being renamed head writer, from 2017 until 2022. Michael Che has been a writer since 2013. He temporarily left the show in the summer of 2014, but came back that fall to anchor Update and reclaimed his status as a writer, then serving as co-head writer alongside Jost for five years.^[94][95]

SNL writers are often also performers or experienced in writing and improvisational comedy. Many are hired from similar backgrounds such as The Groundlings, Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and ImprovOlympic.^[55] Comedian Jim Downey was head writer for nine years beginning in 1985.^[96] Experienced writers with backgrounds in television shows are also sometimes brought into the SNL writing room. Like the SNL cast who appear on camera, many of the writers have been able to find their own success outside the show, such as Conan O'Brien, who was brought into SNL from The Groundlings in 1988, went on to write for The Simpsons, and eventually began hosting his own show.^[97] Former head writer Adam McKay, along with performer Ferrell, founded the successful comedy website Funny or Die.^[98] In 2000 Tina Fey became the first woman SNL head writer^[99][100] and successfully made the transition to starring on the show,^[101] as well as writing and starring in feature films,^{[102][103][104]} ultimately creating and starring in her own show 30 Rock, which was partly based on her SNL experiences.^[105] In 2005 Fey was paid $1.5 million per season for her dual role as head writer and performer.^[106] Writer John Mulaney has also found success outside of SNL through well-received stand-up specials, his Broadway act The Oh, Hello Show, and the special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.

Announcers

Don Pardo served as the announcer for the series when it began and continued in the role for all but season seven, between 1981 and 1982, when Michaels had left and Mel Brandt and Bill Hanrahan filled the announcing role. In 2004 Pardo announced that he would step down from his position, but then continued in the role until 2009 where he again announced his retirement, but then continued into the 2009–10 season.^[107]

In 2010 the 92-year-old Pardo was reported to be again considering his retirement, but continued to serve as announcer until his death at age 96 on August 18, 2014, following the 39th season. Apart from a brief period in 2006 in which Pardo pre-recorded his announcements at his home in Arizona, he flew to New York City to perform his announcing duties live, until 2010 when he began recording permanently from Arizona.^{[107][108][109]} Cast members Joe Piscopo^[110] and Darrell Hammond also periodically impersonated Pardo and fulfilled his announcing duties when Pardo was unavailable.^[111] Hammond took over as full-time announcer starting with season 40.^[112]

Hosts and musical guests

A typical episode of SNL will feature a single host chosen for their popularity or novelty, or because they have a film, album, or other work being released near the time of their appearance on the show.^[113] The host delivers the opening monologue and goodnights, introduces the musical guest, and performs in sketches with the cast. Traditionally, the host of the show ends the opening monologue by mentioning the musical guest for the night, "We got a great show for you tonight, (musical guest) is/are here. So stick around, we'll be right back." Comedian George Carlin was the first to host SNL in the debut October 1975 episode;^[114] three episodes later, Candice Bergen became the first woman to host^[115] and subsequently the first host to return.^[116] Guests who have hosted five or more times are sometimes referred to as belonging to the Five-Timers Club, a term that originated on a sketch performed on Tom Hanks's fifth episode.^[117] As of February 11, 2017, actor Alec Baldwin holds the record for most times hosting, having performed the duty on seventeen different occasions since 1990; Baldwin took the record from actor Steve Martin who has hosted fifteen times since 1976.^[118] Occasionally, former SNL cast members also host.

Each episode also features a musical guest, a solo act or a band, who perform two or three musical numbers. Occasionally, the musical guest simultaneously serves as the host, and may also appear in comedy sketches. As of October 11, 2020, Dave Grohl is the most frequent musical guest, performing on fourteen shows since 1992.^[119] Michaels strongly opposes the use of pre-recorded vocals during musical performances.

Michaels does not allow musical guests to perform using lip-synching tracks,^[120] believing it diminishes the live aspect of the show. Exceptions are made only when the musical act is focused on intense dance routines instead of vocals, where it is difficult to be both heavily physically active and sing.^[121] A 1975 performance by pop group ABBA was the first and only act to feature lip-synching,^[120] until the controversial 2004 performance of Ashlee Simpson.

The December 18, 2021, episode (hosted by Paul Rudd) became the first episode to not feature any musical performances since the first episode of season 12, as well as the third episode in the show's duration to not have a musical guest, due to the rise of the Omicron variant in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[122] Charli XCX was planned as the musical guest, but her performance was cancelled due to the new restrictions as the show had a "limited cast and crew" and no audience.^[123] She was due to perform "Good Ones" and "New Shapes" on this episode, with Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek scheduled to guest on the latter performance. XCX's only appearance in the episode, however, was in the pre-recorded music video spoof called "The Christmas Socks", where she played a parrot named T.J. Rocks. To make up for time and the lack of cast members, classic Christmas sketches are shown, with some sketches introduced by Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, and Kenan Thompson.

The Band

The Saturday Night Live Band (also known as "The Live Band") is the house band for SNL. Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore served as the first musical director, from 1975 to 1980, appearing in many musical sketches, including Howard Shore and His All-Nurse Band and (backing a U.S. Coast Guard chorus) Howard Shore and the Shore Patrol. Over the years, the band has featured several New York studio musicians including Paul Shaffer (1975–1980), Lou Marini (1975–1983), David Sanborn (1975), Michael Brecker (early 1980s), Ray Chew (1980–1983), Alan Rubin (1975–1983), Georg Wadenius (1979–1985), Steve Ferrone (1985), David Johansen (performing as Buster Poindexter), Tom Malone (who took over as musical director from 1981 to 1985), and G. E. Smith (musical director from 1985 to 1995). As of 2017, the band is under the leadership of Tower of Power alumnus Lenny Pickett, keyboardist Leon Pendarvis, and Eli Brueggemann, who does not play in the band on the live show. The band plays instrumentals leading in and out of station breaks; affiliates who run no advertising during these interludes hear the band play complete songs behind a Saturday Night Live bumper graphic until the program resumes.^[124] The band plays "Closing Theme (Waltz in A)", written by Shore, at the end of the show.^[125]

The studio

Since the show's inception, SNL has aired from Studio 8H, located on floors eight and nine of the Comcast Building (formerly the RCA Building and GE Building, now 30 Rockefeller Plaza or "30 Rock"). The studio had originally been used as a radio soundstage for Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra.^[126] Michaels was dumbfounded when he originally inspected Studio 8H in 1975, and found it technically limited, outdated, in need of repair,^[127] and lacking the capacity to host a live show. Michaels demanded that NBC executives rebuild the studio and improve the acoustics to accommodate the intended musical acts,^[126] at a cost of approximately $300,000.^[126] Three of the shows of the 1976–77 season were shot at the former NBC Studios in Brooklyn, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for presidential election coverage.^[128]

During the summer 2005 shooting hiatus, crews began renovations on Studio 8H. With its thirty-first season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting in high-definition television, appearing letterboxed on conventional television screens. The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock".^[129]

Creating an episode

Production on an SNL episode will normally start on a Monday with a free-form pitch meeting^{[130][131][132]} between the cast, writers, producers, including Michaels and the guest host in Michaels's office over two hours. The host is invited to pitch ideas during this meeting. Although some sketch writing may occur on the day, the bulk of the work revolves around pitching ideas. Tuesday is the only day dedicated purely to writing the scripts,^[131] a process that usually extends through the night into the following morning. Writing may not begin until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday.^[130] At 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the sketches are read by the cast during a round-table meeting in the writers room,^[132] attended by the writers and producers present during the pitch meeting, technical experts such as make-up artists, who may be required to realize certain sketch ideas such as those using prosthetics, and other producers, resulting in an attendance of approximately fifty people. At this point, there may be at least forty sketch ideas that are read-through in turn, lasting upwards of three hours.^[133]

After completion of the read-through, Michaels, the head writer, the guest host, and some of the show producers will move to Michaels' office to decide the layout of the show and decide which of the sketches will be developed for air. Once complete, the writers and cast are allowed into Michaels's office to view the show breakdown and learn whether or not their sketch has survived.^[134] Sketches may be rewritten starting the same day,^[131] but will certainly commence on Thursday. Work focuses on developing and rewriting the remaining sketches^[130] and possibly rehearsals.^[132] If a sketch is still scheduled beyond Thursday, it is rehearsed on Friday or Saturday^[131] before moving to a rehearsal before a live audience at 8:00 p.m., again on Saturday, before the live show.^[130][132] After the rehearsal, Michaels will review the show lineup to ensure it meets a 90-minute length, and sketches that have made it as far as the live rehearsal may be removed.^[135] This often results in less than two days of rehearsal for the eight to twelve sketches that have made it to the stage that then may appear on the live broadcast.^[130] The opening monologue, spoken by the guest host, is given low priority and can be written as late as Saturday afternoon.^[136]

According to an interview with Tina Fey in 2004, the three- to four-member dedicated Weekend Update writing team will write jokes throughout the week. The host(s) of Weekend Update will normally not work with or read the scripts from the team until Thursday evening, after the main show sketches have been finalized. The host(s) will then work on contributing to the script where necessary.^[137][138] As of late 2017, Weekend Update now has its own separate writing staff dedicated to writing news jokes.

Post-production

With onsite facilities housed on floors eight and seventeen of Rockefeller Plaza, post-production duties on live broadcasts of Saturday Night Live include the mixing of audio and video elements by the Senior Audio Mixer, coupled with additional audio feeds consisting of music, sound effects, music scoring, and pre-recorded voiceovers. All sources are stored digitally, with shows captured and segregated into individual elements to reorganize for future repeats and syndication. The production tracking system was migrated from primarily analog to digital in 1998, with live shows typically requiring 1.5 terabytes of storage, consisting of audio elements and five cameras' worth of visual elements.^[139] Elements of Saturday Night Live that are pre-recorded, such as certain commercial parodies, SNL Digital Shorts, and show graphics are processed off-site in the post-production facilities of Broadway Video.^[140][141]

Filming and photography

Studio 8H production facilities are maintained by NBC Production Services. As of 2018, the show uses five Sony HDC-1500 cameras, primarily mounted on Vinten pedestals, although one is mounted on a Chapman-Leonard Electra crane.^{[142][143][144]}

As of 2014, a Grass Valley GVG 4000-3 digital component production switcher and GVG 7000 digital component routing switcher are used to route visual feeds to the control room, with multiple digital and analog video recorders used to store footage. Graphics are provided by a Chyron Lyric Pro character generator and an Avid Deko character generator. Audio facilities consist of a Calrec T Series digitally controlled analog mixing console, and a Yamaha digital mixing console used for tape playback support and utility audio work.^[145] While exact budgets for other seasons are not known, the 39th season (2013–14) had a budget of over $70 million, for which it received a subsidy from New York State in the amount of $12.3 million.^[146]

As of 2009, the opening title sequence and opening montage is shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D digital SLR cameras. Typical elements are recorded at thirty frames per second (fps), with slow-motion sequences shot at sixty fps, both in full 1080p high definition.^[147]

Edie Baskin was the original SNL photographer. She was hired after Michaels saw her photographs of Las Vegas and other work. Baskin helped create the opening title sequence for the show by taking photos of New York City at night.^[148] The first episode used publicity photos of host George Carlin as transitional bumpers between the show and commercial breaks, the second episode used photos Baskin had already taken of host Paul Simon. It was then that Michaels suggested that Baskin photograph the hosts for the bumpers instead of using publicity photos, beginning a tradition that continues today.^[149]

Since 1999 Mary Ellen Matthews has been the official photographer of SNL, responsible for devising distinctive photo layouts and aesthetics for still imagery used on the show. Matthews creates photo portraits of the hosts and musical guests of each episode which are used as commercial bumpers. The limited time frame between the host's involvement in the production process and the Live show requires Matthews to create makeshift photo studios on-site at 30 Rock, with Matthews attempting to shoot the host on Tuesday and the musical guest on Thursday, although the availability of either can mean the photoshoot for both occurs as late as Thursday.^[150] Matthews employs flattering portrait lighting with hard lights to achieve a Hollywood style. On the lighting, Matthews commented: "I think it just helps the image pop off the screen ... If you use soft or flat lighting, it becomes not as dimensional ... The [classic Hollywood lighting] gives a little more contrast, and if I use edge lights and then light the background, it goes farther and farther back. I try to achieve that depth as much as I can."^[151] Matthews is also responsible for taking cast photos, behind-the-scenes images, documenting rehearsals, and promotional photos. As of 2010, she has also been involved in directing videos, including the show title sequence.^[151]

Delays

The episode scheduled for October 25, 1986, hosted by Rosanna Arquette, was not aired until November 8 due to NBC broadcasting game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox; the four-hour game entered extra innings (with the Mets overcoming a two-run deficit to win), causing that night's broadcast of SNL to be canceled. The show was recorded for the studio audience starting at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time and broadcast two weeks later with a jocular "apology" by Mets pitcher Ron Darling.^[160]

The episode scheduled for February 10, 2001, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, aired 45 minutes late due to an XFL game. Lopez and the cast were not told they were airing on a delay. Michaels was so upset by the delay the episode was rerun a mere three weeks later. The fledgling football league ended up changing their rules in order to speed up play, and a deal was reached where the feed to future games would be cut off (if the episode is airing Live) – whether the game had been decided or not – when SNL started, so that no such incident would happen again.^[161]

The November 7, 2020 episode, hosted by Dave Chappelle (the first episode after 2020 presidential elections), began at 12:10 a.m. Eastern after a Clemson-Notre Dame college football game went into double overtime.^[162]

Accolades

Lorne Michaels and the cast of Saturday Night Live at the 68th Annual Peabody Awards for Political Satire 2008

Saturday Night Live has won numerous awards since its debut, including 87 Primetime Emmy Awards,^[205] six Writers Guild of America Awards,^[206] and three Peabody Awards.^[207] In 2009 it received a total of thirteen Emmy nominations for a lifetime total of 126, breaking the record for the most award-nominated show in Primetime Emmy Award history, previously set with 124 by hospital drama ER.^[208][209] As of September 2022, it has received a record total of 305 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Twenty-five cast members have received individual Primetime Emmy Award nominations in the show's history. These nominations were mostly in the category of Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program before that award was discontinued; since then, nominations have been in the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress categories for comedy series. Of the 54 total nominations for these twenty-five performers, four have won: Chevy Chase (1976), Gilda Radner (1978), Dana Carvey (1993), and Kate McKinnon (2016, 2017). In addition, Alec Baldwin received two Emmy nominations, winning once in 2017, for his recurring guest role as Donald Trump.^[210]

Electoral effect

SNL has also affected American elections, most commonly presidential elections. Voters have reported that political sketches shown on the program influenced them in the voting booth. The so-called SNL Effect was observed during the 2008 presidential campaign, according to Mike Dabadie. Two-thirds of voters who responded to a poll said they had seen a broadcast of politically charged content on SNL, with ten percent saying it had made a difference in their decision. Barack Obama was the beneficiary of the political content, with 59 percent saying they did in fact cast a vote for the Democratic then-nominee.^[211] Chevy Chase's bumbling impression of then-president Gerald Ford during the 1976 presidential election was cited as an influence on the election, and a quote commonly attributed to 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin stating "I can see Russia from my house" was actually spoken by SNL cast member Tina Fey while portraying Palin.^[212] The political content was abandoned briefly following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York, with Amy Poehler saying the writers did not want to produce politicized material.^[213]

Several politicians have appeared on SNL, including President Gerald Ford (in 1976, during the show's first season), then-Senator Barack Obama (2007), Senator John McCain (2002 and 2008), Secretary Hillary Clinton (2008 and 2015), and Governor Sarah Palin (2008), who appeared alongside Fey's Palin impression, resulting in the show's largest audience in fourteen years with fourteen million viewers.^[214][213] Senator Obama's appearance occurred in part because Hillary Clinton abandoned her scheduled appearance.^[213] Donald Trump hosted the show in 2015,^[215] which was met with controversy.^[216]

Representations of minorities

Over the years, SNL has been criticized for its perceived stereotypical and sparse representation of racial and gender groups. A 2016 study of SNL episodes from 1975 to 2016 (826 total) revealed over 90% of episodes had white hosts, while 6.8% were black, 1.2% were Hispanic, and 1.1% were of another racial minority.^[220] Chris Rock indicated he grew frustrated with being limited to sketches where he played stereotypical roles such as a rapper or Black political activist, and left the show to perform on In Living Color, which featured a mostly Black cast and would offer Rock more creative freedom.^[221] When longtime cast member Kenan Thompson suggested in 2013 that female African-American representation was low because producers were not finding such comediennes who were "ready", media outlets countered it was SNL that was not ready, and the racial disparity "is symptomatic of problems deeply rooted in comedy and the entertainment industry at large".^{[222][223][224]}

The same year, Thompson refused to play any more black women on the show and demanded SNL hire black women instead.^[225][226]

SNL has had "little representation from Asian actors, as cast members or hosts", in its run.^[227][228] Until Bowen Yang's promotion from writer to on-air performer, there had been only three people of Asian descent in the cast: Fred Armisen (2002–2013) had a Korean grandfather; Rob Schneider (1988–1994) had a Filipina grandmother; and Nasim Pedrad (2009–2014) was born in Tehran, Iran.^[228][229] In the first forty-seven seasons, the show had seven hosts who were of Asian descent: Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu in 2000; Aziz Ansari and Kumail Nanjiani in 2017; Awkwafina in 2018; Sandra Oh in 2019; and Simu Liu in 2021.^{[220][227][228][230]}

Denny Dillon was the first gay cast member in the 1980–81 season, but was in the closet at the time. Terry Sweeney was SNL's first openly gay male cast member, appearing in the 1985–1986 season, although he was not hired by Lorne Michaels. Sweeney was also the first openly gay series regular on network television.^[231][232] John Milhiser was second, in the 2013–2014 cast.^[233] Danitra Vance was also in the 1985–1986 cast but was in the closet throughout her life. All four cast members left after one season. Before she was cast in 2012, Kate McKinnon had been openly gay, and was a cast member for the full run of Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show.^[234] and remained an SNL cast member until 2022. Molly Kearney became the first openly non-binary cast member in 2022.^[235]

Melissa Villaseñor joined as a featured player on the October 1, 2016, episode of SNL, alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat.^[236] Villaseñor was the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican,^[237] and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status.^[238]

Bowen Yang is the sixth LGBTQ cast member in SNL history. Numerous news outlets noted the disconnect of Michaels hiring Yang, an out gay Chinese-American cast member, at the same time as Shane Gillis, who was found to have aired what was perceived as homophobic and anti-Asian jokes and slurs on his podcast.^[239][240] Gillis issued what Vox and HuffPost characterized as a non-apology apology.^[241][242] Within days, a spokesperson for Michaels announced Gillis was fired due to the controversy.^[240]

Jake Weisman, co-star of Comedy Central's Corporate, says the absence of gay men in the cast is rooted in homophobia and bigotry. In March 2018 NewNowNext noted: "Even if the audience and writers have changed with the times – and even that's debatable – Lorne Michaels hasn't."^[243]

Home media

Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Lions Gate Entertainment hold video rights to the series. Universal has issued complete season DVD sets of the first few seasons, while Lionsgate's share of the rights is a result of prior contracts with NBC struck before the NBC Universal merger. A majority of Lionsgate's SNL DVDs are "Best Of ..." compilations.

Books

Saturday Night Live, the first authorized book about the series, was published by Avon Books in 1977 and edited by Anne Beatts and John Head, with photography by Edie Baskin;^[244] all three worked for SNL at the time the book was published. The oversized illustrated paperback included the scripts for several sketches by the 1975–80 cast.^[245] In 1986 Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad authored Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, a behind-the-scenes look at the first ten seasons.^[246] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years, by Michael Cader, was released in 1994 and presented information about the cast, characters, and other memorable moments seen on the show from 1975 to 1994.^[247][248]

Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests was released in 2002.^[249] The book, written by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller, consists of interviews with people who have worked on the show. The interviews reveal personal experiences from what happened backstage and the difficulty of getting the show on air each week.^[250] In 2004 former cast member Jay Mohr released his memoir Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live^[251] about his struggles during his two seasons on the show between 1993 and 1995, dealing with getting sketches on-air and the intense work schedule. Former cast member Bobby Moynihan described the book as "a handbook on what NOT to do at SNL".^[252]

Films

SNL has made several efforts to develop some of the more popular sketches into feature-length films, with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The first foray into film came with the successful Aykroyd and Belushi vehicle, The Blues Brothers (1980), which earned over $115 million on a $27 million budget.^[253]

In 1990 Michaels oversaw the writing of a sketch anthology feature film titled The Saturday Night Live Movie with many of the show's then-current writing staff, including Al Franken, Tom Davis, Greg Daniels, Jim Downey, Conan O'Brien, Robert Smigel, and George Meyer, contributing. The screenplay only got as far as a Revised First Draft dated July 26, 1990, before being abandoned.^[254]

The success of Wayne's World (1992) encouraged Michaels to produce more film spin-offs, based on several popular sketch characters. Michaels revived 1970s characters for Coneheads (1993), followed by It's Pat (1994); Stuart Saves His Family (1995); A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Superstar (1999), and The Ladies Man (2000). Some did moderately well, though others did not – notably, It's Pat, which did so badly at the box office the studio that made the film, Touchstone Pictures (owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns NBC's rival ABC), pulled it only one week after releasing it,^[255] and Stuart Saves His Family, which lost $14 million. Many of these films were produced by Paramount Pictures. The films based on The Blues Brothers were produced by Universal Studios, which merged with NBC in 2004 to form NBC Universal (Universal also has a joint venture with Paramount for international distribution of the two studios' films).

The character Bob Roberts from the Tim Robbins film of the same name (1992) first appeared on SNL in a short film about the conservative folk singer.

In addition, the 1999 comedy film Office Space originated from a series of animated short films by Mike Judge that aired on SNL in 1993.^[257]

The fictitious American folk music trio The Folksmen first appeared on SNL, performing the song "Old Joe's Place" before later appearing in the film A Mighty Wind (2002). The three members of the Folksmen were the same three comedians: Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest, who also appeared on the same episode as the rock group Spinal Tap. At the time of the appearance (the 1984–85 season), Shearer and Guest were cast members.

Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures is based on the Mr. Bill sketches from early seasons of SNL.^[258]

Commercials

Over the years popular characters from the show have appeared in ad campaigns for an assortment of products.

Music

In 2005 the comedy troupe The Lonely Island, consisting of SNL members Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, gained national exposure after joining the show and debuting their comedic music video "Lazy Sunday", written with fellow cast member Chris Parnell. The song became a surprise hit,^[272] and convinced Michaels to encourage the troupe to develop more comedy songs. Further successes with songs including "Like a Boss", "Jizz in My Pants", "I'm on a Boat", "We Like Sportz", "Boombox", and "Dick in a Box" – which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2007^[273] – saw The Lonely Island go on to release two albums, Incredibad (2009)^[274] and Turtleneck & Chain (2011), containing SNL-developed songs and original works. The albums were released by Universal Republic Records who were provided with a license to the SNL songs by NBC and Broadway Video.

A cast album was released in 1976 on the Arista label including the song "Chevy's Girls" and comedy bits from the show (Weekend Update, "Emily Litella", "Gun Control");^[275] it was later re-issued on CD and MP3 download.

Other

Several programs have documented the behind-the-scenes events of the show. A 60 Minutes report taped in October 2004 depicted the intense writing frenzy that goes on during the week leading up to a show, with crowded meetings and long hours. The report particularly noted the involvement of the guest host(s) in developing and selecting the sketches in which they will appear. Similarly, there has been an A&E episode of Biography which covered the production process, as well as an episode of TV Tales in 2002 on E!. In 2010, Saturday Night, a 94-minute documentary by actor James Franco in his directorial debut, was released; it follows the production process of the December 6, 2008, episode hosted by John Malkovich, from the concept stage to the episode actually airing live. Although it originated as a five-minute short film for Franco's New York University film class, Michaels granted Franco access to the process, allowing the project to be expanded.^[132] On February 15, 2015, NBC aired a 3+1⁄2-hour special on Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary. The program included a mix of clips, new performances of classic characters from previous cast members, and special guest appearances from previous hosts.^[276]

In September 2011 ice cream company Ben & Jerry's released a limited-edition ice cream called "Schweddy Balls", inspired by a 1998 sketch of the same name starring Alec Baldwin, Ana Gasteyer, and Molly Shannon.^[277][278] According to the company, the ice cream became their fastest-selling limited-edition flavor.^[279] The ice cream was also subject to criticism and boycotts by One Million Moms, a project of the American Family Association, over the "vulgar" name.^[277][280] Some retail chains chose not to sell the flavor, but declined to say if the decision was at their own discretion or based on the One Million Moms boycotts.^[280][281] In June 2014 two new flavors inspired by SNL sketches were introduced: Lazy Sunday, based on a sketch of the same name featuring Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell, and Gilly's Catastrophic Crunch based on the recurring Gilly sketches featuring Kristen Wiig.^[282] Two Wild and Crazy Pies, based on the catchphrase of the recurring Festrunk Brothers, was introduced in September 2014,^[283] followed by Wayne'Swirled, which was inspired by the eponymous Wayne's World in February 2015.^[284]

Notes

Bibliography