Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The show’s premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC’s Saturday Night. The show’s comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary American culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on political events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”, properly beginning the show.
Over the series 50 years on the air, there have been thousands of short comedic bits, everything from the very first, in which John Belushi talks about wolverines, to recent TikTok parodies that creator Lorne Michaels couldn’t have dreamed of when the show debuted in 1975. Of course, over its half-century, some sketches have risen to the top ahead of ho-hum, mediocre and downright bad bits from NBC’s Studio 8H. They might have memorable, recurring characters or be a complete one-off idea. They may be groundbreaking and unorthodox, or they may fellow the tried-and-true rules of comedy. They could be witty and intellectual or silly and stupid but on purpose. They can be for Christmas or Halloween and can include cavemen or celebrity impressions, snack foods, or game shows. They can be deliberately provocative and pointed, or just funny for funny’s sake. SNL has been a staple and continues to provide excelling humor through 50+ years of the shows history.