Saturday Night Live has become an American staple in broadcast television, spending fifty years on the air. Over the years, it has helped launch an incredible list of comedians and musical acts to stardom. Since the historic season started back in October 2024, Lorne Michaels, the current cast, and several SNL alumni have teased the 50th Anniversary show that we now know is slated to air on Sunday, February 16th as part of the 2025 TV schedule— a departure from their Saturday night spot on NBC’s line up.
Little is known about what the anniversary special will entail beyond the release date, but if the recent SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night docuseries on Peacock or Questlove’s Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music documentary (which reflected on Kanye West's political rant on the show) is an indication that the special is surely going to be a hit. Even the current cast is excited about what’s to come, like Bowen Yang, who took time during Sundance press for his upcoming film The Wedding Banquet to speak with Deadline about the iconic variety show that has landed him four Emmy nominations.
I’m just excited that it’s gonna be a true holistic celebration of 50 years of the show. I mean we’re having such a wide swath of performers and people who have been impacted by the show and people whose careers got started because of the show. I’m just excited for the concert on the 14th. And I just think it’s been a nice moment of pause and reflection, and the documentaries that have come out on Peacock have been really wonderful.
Season 50 has already seen some iconic guest appearances from former cast members, including Maya Rudolph, who reprised her role as Vice President Kamala Harris at the start of the season, and Dana Carvey, who not only impersonated President Joe Biden but also brought back his classic character “Church Lady.” With the season only half over, there’s plenty of room for more SNL “big name” alumni to appear as Molly Shannon teased back in August 2024. Perhaps, even for the 50th Anniversary special.
However, in true chaotic SNL form, much of the anniversary show is being kept under wraps. According to Yang, Lorne hasn’t even shared many details with them regarding what the special is going to look like.
But also the headline is, no one knows what’s going to happen because the plan is still all in Lorne’s head. So, I think we’re still all just waiting with bated breath on what it will be because the shape is still coming together.
If there’s one person who knows what a 50th celebration should look like for the variety comedy show, it's Michaels, who has worked on nearly every season of the show. There’s no telling what the creator has planned, but it's bound to be something amazing, given he’s been thinking about it for a very long time.
In fact, back in 2021, Michaels reflected on potentially retiring, but not until he got the show to its historic 50th season. His tone on retiring has changed now that the accomplishment has happened, which is understandable. After all, why fix something that’s not broken?
In preparation for the anniversary special, there won’t be a new episode of SNL until the special airs on Sunday in a few weeks. That gives everyone enough time to catch up on Season 50 with their active Peacock subscription.
The SNL5)L The Anniversary Special will air on Sunday, February 16th at 8pm ET on NBC and will be available to stream simultaneously on Peacock. Until then, keep an eye out for upcoming hosts and musical guests coming to the show for the remainder of the season.
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