After five decades of amusing fans with sketch comedy and musical performances, Saturday Night Live (SNL) celebrated its 50th anniversary on Feb. 13 by hosting celebrities including comedian Steve Martin, pop-star Sabrina Carpenter, legendary singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, and dozens more.
The show, created by Lorne Michaels, has won 101 Primetime Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and five Writers Guild of America Awards since its first appearance on Oct. 11, 1975. The anniversary special episode, aired live from New York on Sunday night, hit 14.8 million views on NBC, making it the network’s most-watched TV show.
The three-hour-long episode began with a duet performance by Paul Simon and Carpenter on Simon’s song “Homeward Bound,” recorded in 1966, bringing back memories of frequent collaboration with Simon and a feeling of nostalgia. Simon mentioned “Homeward Bound” was originally performed on SNL 48 years ago, back in 1976. The heartfelt performance symbolized both the past, with Simon, and the present, with Carpenter.
“I was not born then,” Carpenter said on stage during her performance. “And neither were my parents.”
Shortly after the opening performance, 79-year-old comedian Steve Martin delivered a monologue where he joked about how he was unsure about his appearance at the event, due to his age. Martin also added in his monologue, “a person born during the first season of SNL could be easily dead of natural causes,” which highlighted the show’s longevity and significant history.
Further into the episode, some of the most discussed moments from the night began when Emma Stone walked the red carpet with a dress full of popcorn. Despite the unique vision, the popcorn made a mess and cleaning it up caused a slight commotion during Meryl Streep’s moment on the red carpet.
Notably for the night, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively showed up to their first public event after their legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Not only did they show up, Reynolds and Lively performed a skit related to the controversy and situation that is happening.
One particular skit that audiences adored from the evening featured Sabrina Carpenter singing alongside Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny while parodying an earlier sketch from the season centered around cast member Marcello Hernandez. The running skit involved Carpenter playing a bridesmaid, and singing her own song, “Espresso,” with altered lyrics.
The closure of SNL included McCartney singing a compilation of the Beatles’ songs “Abbey Road,” and “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End.” After that, every SNL cast member gathered and honored the creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
Audiences have reflected on the event in a memorable way. With additional laughs coming from skits like “Audrey from Little Shop Horrors,” Audrey portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, allowing famous actors to make an appearance on the big screen.
The anniversary show is still available on NBC and Peacock, featuring more episodes and exciting performances from the show’s long history.
