Saturday Night Live has jumpstarted dozens of comics' careers over its historic fifty-year run on television, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down as it returns for the 2025 TV schedule. However, landing a job on the iconic variety sketch show is a lot harder than one might seem -- just ask Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge, who was rejected after auditioning. In fact, many comedy giants who came out of the show, like Andy Samberg, have expressed how terrifying that particular job audition actually is.
For the first time on this scale, many of SNL’s most famous alumni are coming together to talk about what it was like working on the show in the Peacock original documentary SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. The four-part documentary will cover everything from the history of the show to deep dives into some of the most popular sketches of all time, but it’s also a chance for current and former cast members to reflect back on how they ended up on the all-time great sketch series in the first place.
Only the best of the best make it to Saturday Night Live, which is why the show has such a tremendous track record; however, with that comes an immense sort of pressure not to blow your audition. Andy Samberg gets perhaps the most candid about his tryout experience in the trailer, sharing:
My first audition, I threw up.
Samberg spent seven years as a cast member on SNL and is largely credited for popularizing the show’s Digital Shorts but judging by his quote; it wasn’t an easy gig to get. Ignoring the fact that he actually threw up, the more interesting tidbit of his quote is the fact that he had to audition more than once. It’s hard to imagine the SNL casting directors not seeing his comedic talent in one audition, but that’s just how serious they are about only casting the best of the best.
Other SNL greats shared similar anecdotes that indicated how terrifying it is to audition for the show, like Pete Davidson, who shared that his audition process was “terrifying.” Even Kenan Thompson, the longest-running Saturday Night Live cast member, cringes at the thought of his initial audition, saying:
It’s a miracle I’m sitting here right now.
Amy Poehler also appears visibly uncomfortable in the trailer when she’s asked to watch her audition tape, telling the documentary producers, “That’s enough,” after simply watching her introduction.
While the highlight of the trailer for me was listening to the comics reflect on the audition process, there’s a ton of great teases for what’s to come in the four-part series. Check it out:
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night will start streaming on Peacock on January 16th, which is perfect timing since the fifth season of the live sketch show has yet to arrive in post-primetime. However, avid fans of the show should mark their calendars for February 16th, when the official three-hour 50th anniversary special is set to air on NBC.
In the meantime, you can relive every episode of Saturday Night Live by streaming them with an active Peacock subscription.
