Live from New York, it’s almost Sunday Night!
And “Saturday Night Live” viewers are gearing up for the sketch comedy show’s 50th anniversary special airing on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special” is a three-hour live telecast from Studio 8H, which will celebrate the long-running series’ half-centennial on air. Iconic cast members from past and present are set to make an appearance, including Jane Curtin, Amy Poehler, Chevy Chase, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, and more.
Production designer Keith Raywood, who has been with “SNL” for 40 seasons since 1985, revealed just how big the special episode will be.
“We [will] have about 450 people in the studio, which is essentially about 200 people more than we would normally have,” he told The Post.
Raywood noted that the audience will be full of the special guests’ friends and family.
“Imagine all the people who have been on the show – those cast members and hosts. It’s a lot of people [there to see them]. And, those seats don’t normally exist,” he continued.
It’s sure to be a star-studded evening to commemorate everything that made the NBC variety show the pop culture phenomenon that it is.
Keep reading for all the details on “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special.”
How to watch
The special will air live at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and Peacock.
Red carpet coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on NBC with “SNL” alum Leslie Jones, “Sunday Today” host Willie Geist and comedian Matt Rogers interviewing the stars.
Creator and host of the viral chat show “Chicken Shop Date,” Amelia Dimoldenberg, will be the correspondent for the red carpet livestream.
Viewers can watch on all “SNL” social and digital platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.
Which ‘SNL’ alums are returning?
The milestone moment in comedy will bring together some of the greats.
Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman, four of the surviving original cast members, are set to return.
Other alums set to return include Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and Will Forte.
“It’s so exciting,” Shannon said of the special on “Today” Thursday. “But I also forget I get nervous. There’s nothing like live performance. … I forget the adrenaline. So it’s so exciting. But it feels like coming home.”
Current cast members will also join in on the special. The roster will be: Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker and Bowen Yang.
Which celebrity guests will make an appearance?
The star-studded celebration will be packed with a slew of A-listers.
Among the confirmed celebrities are Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Bad Bunny, Dave Chappelle, John Mulaney, Kim Kardashian, Martin Short, Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pedro Pascal, Peyton Manning, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro, Sabrina Carpenter, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks and Woody Harrelson.
What to expect from the three-hour show
Mikey Day has hinted that “SNL 50” has been years in the making, sharing how big the celebration would be back in June 2023.
In an interview on “Today,” the comedian said executive producer Lorne Michaels was already preparing.
“Oh, my gosh, it’s going to be insane,” Day gushed. “I haven’t heard that much, but I know Lorne’s slowly putting it together.”
As far as potential guests, he teased, “I believe every famous person in the universe will be there. It’s wild.”
The last major “SNL” anniversary special aired in 2015 and celebrated the show’s 40-year legacy.
What other events happened for the anniversary?
Sunday night’s special is the end of weekend-long programming celebrating the milestone.
On Friday, Peacock aired a special, “SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert,” a live concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, executive produced by Michaels and music producer Mark Ronson.
The show was hosted by Jimmy Fallon and included performances by Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Cher, Chris Martin, Dave Grohl, David Byrne, Devo, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robyn, Snoop Dogg, St. Vincent, the B-52s, the Roots and Wyclef Jean.
On Saturday, NBC re-aired the very first episode of “SNL.”
The show was originally titled “NBC’s Saturday Night” and taped on Oct. 11, 1975.
Viewers can also watch the film titled “Saturday Night,” which followed the 90 minutes leading up to the first-ever live broadcast of the show.
However, not everyone on the show was a fan of the flick.
Chevy Chase told the director he shouldn’t be too proud of his work.
While on the “Fly on the Wall” podcast hosted by “SNL” alums Dana Carvey and David Spade, Jason Reitman shared what the 81-year-old actor said.
“So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie,” he recalled. “And he is there with [his wife] Jayni and they watch the film, and he’s in the group, and he comes up to me after and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, ‘Well, you should be embarrassed.’”
However, the crew was far from surprised.
Spade, 60, said with a laugh, “What an exact Chevy thing. You couldn’t even write it better.”
