Six of the best moments from ‘SNL50: The Anniversary Special’ (and a bonus)
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Over the decades, “Saturday Night Live” has spawned countless memorable characters and skits, but for one night, many of them — from “Black Jeopardy” to “Bronx Beat” to “Debbie Downer” — made a return for the 50th anniversary celebration of the sketch comedy series.
“SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” a live, prime-time event on NBC Sunday that ran for more than three hours, was essentially an extended version of the late-night show, kicking off with a cold open — Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon performing “Homeward Bound” — and a monologue from Steve Martin, with help from John Mulaney and Martin Short. Musical guests included Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard — who performed Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a nod to Sinead O’Connor — rapper Lil Wayne with The Roots and Beatles legend Paul McCartney. (Also notable was Aubrey Plaza making her first public appearance since her husband’s Jan. 3 death to introduce Cyrus and Howard.) Prior to the special, a red carpet, hosted by “SNL” alum Leslie Jones, previewed the stars who would be in the audience in Studio 8H.
The event capped a weekend-long celebration of the show, which began Friday with “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” at Radio City Music Hall. It featured artists from a range of genres who had performed on the show over the decades, including Cher, Lady Gaga, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill of the Fugees, Devo, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Nirvana with Post Malone on vocals, the Backstreet Boys, Robyn, David Byrne, Arcade Fire with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Jack White, who closed out the show with two songs: a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Seven Nation Army.” Sketches were featured in between performances (more on that below). The three-hour concert was livestreamed on Peacock, where it can still be viewed — it’s a must watch.
The sketch comedy show is celebrating 50 seasons with two documentaries and an upcoming prime-time special that reflect on its standing as an American institution.
On Saturday, NBC aired the very first episode of the show, which premiered in October 1975, during “SNL’s” usual time slot. Several members of the original cast were in attendance at the special on Sunday, including Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman — featured in a “Chad” sketch with Pete Davidson — and Garrett Morris, who introduced “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” a short from Season 3 featuring John Belushi as an old man visiting the graves of his castmates (Belushi died in 1982). During the good-nights, Curtin and Newman could be seen hoisting a black-and-white photo of Gilda Radner, another original cast member, who died in 1989. Looking on was creator Lorne Michaels.
Here are some of the highlights from the “SNL50” special, selected by The Times’ television staff.
A Domingo reprise with musical stars and ‘SNL’ greats
The soul-patch-sporting Domingo, played by Marcello Hernández, made a comeback, marking the character’s third time in a sketch since his splashy debut in October. The saucy character had an affair with bride-to-be Kelsey (Chloe Fineman) and joined her bridesmaids in song at the wedding to tell her new husband (Andrew Dismukes) about the affair. His subsequent appearances have been increasingly messy.
For the third installment, Kelsey’s parents (played by a terrific Martin Short and Molly Shannon) toast to the couple at their vow renewal before her friends, led by Sabrina Carpenter, sing another off-key secret-spilling tribute (this time, they stumble their way through “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me”). Hernandez as Domingo then reveals that he has two brothers — played by Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny — who also have engaged in messy affairs with the family.
Shannon — whose character was participating in dry January’s counterpart, “wet February” — grinded up against Bad Bunny in one of the evening’s most unexpected but delightful pairings. The sketch was characteristic of much of the evening with its surprising celebrity cameos, and was, perhaps, an appeal to younger viewers who might not be as s familiar with famous sketches of the past. — Kaitlyn Huamani
Meryl Streep’s first-ever ‘SNL’ appearance (yes, really)
Sure, Meryl Streep and Martin Short as an undercover couple is cute. But Streep and Pedro Pascal flirting with each other as characters who’ve been abducted by aliens? That’s out of this world. In her first ever appearance on “SNL” — insane, we know — Streep appeared as Colleen Sr., the mother of alien abductee Colleen Rafferty, Kate McKinnon’s recurring character. In the “Close Encounter” sketch, the mother-daughter duo recounted their extraterrestrial experiences in an interview with investigators (Aidy Bryant and Jon Hamm) at the Pentagon. They were joined by two men, Kermit (Pascal) and Dusty (Woody Harrelson), who raved about their otherworldly encounters. But it’s Streep’s commitment to Colleen Sr.’s laid-back, unbothered demeanor that steals the sketch. If you want to know what a vibe is, just watch Streep in blue jeans and a loose button-down, gripping a cigarette and a plastic cup while manspreading and talking about her personal landscaping or her husband’s anatomy.
For the record:
5:19 p.m. Feb. 17, 2025An earlier version of this article contained a typographical error, so Aidy Bryant’s first name appeared as Andy. Will Forte appeared as Elmo, not Cookie Monster.
But it’s when Kermit praises her motherly instincts to save her daughter from the aliens that Streep’s commitment to the part truly stands out. Turning to him, she says, “Yeah, well, a good mother can also be a baaaad girl.” She then swings her left leg so it straddles the chair’s armrest for emphasis and asks, “What’s your name, mustache?” It makes us wish that Kermit and Colleen Sr. were on “Love Is Blind” to bring some fun to the bland pod dates this season. But we’ll settle for “SNL” finally asking Streep to host. What’s the delay, guys? — Yvonne Villarreal
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s audience Q&A
If you ask me, Tina and Amy are the John and Paul of “SNL,” so it’s always a thrill to see them reunited. The former “Weekend Update” anchors and popular Golden Globes hosts took questions about the show’s history from the star-studded audience. There was Keith Richards, inquiring about the whereabouts of a scarf he’d left at 30 Rock sometime in the ’90s; Jon Lovitz, asking why he was seated across the street at the American Girl store; and Jon Hamm, seeking confirmation that he is, indeed, funny.
The Q&A session was, as Seth Meyers pointed out, a great way “to give some air time to celebrities who aren’t in other parts of the show.” It was also a great opportunity to see exactly which celebrities were among the few hundred to sit in the audience at Studio 8H — Cher! Kevin Costner! — and who got the ultimate luxury of a plus-one. But the real standout moment in the bit had nothing to do with the A-listers in attendance. It was the brief appearance by Donna Richards, who dresses the host each week on “SNL” and “has seen every celebrity here in their underpants.” (Her favorite: Jason Momoa.) Oh, the stories she could tell. — Meredith Blake
New York, the musical
The special’s sketch paying tribute to New York through the years initially seemed like an unlikely premise for humor. It started with John Mulaney as a hot dog vendor educating two out-of-towners (David Spade and Pete Davidson) who want to make it in the Big Apple. But the funny kicked up a notch when Adam Driver in a hot dog costume and Maya Rudolph as a needle of heroin launched into a send-up of “Fame.” The Broadway musical parodies continued, ranging from “Les Misérables” and “Little Shop of Horrors” (Scarlett Johansson showing some impressive singing chops as a battered Audrey) to Lin-Manuel Miranda and McKinnon as disgraced New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani riffing on “Hamilton.”
The highlight was a poke at the changing vibe of Times Square that featured a pimp (Jason Sudeikis) and Elmo (Will Forte) in the studio re-creating the battle duet between Jean Valjean and Javert from “Les Miserables” (MVP honors for Jenna Ortega and Costner as two extremely uncomfortable audience members seated together). The grand finale with dozens of singers and celebrities featured someone dressed as Robert De Niro from “Taxi Driver.” A comic gem. — Greg Braxton
Tom Broecker has played an integral part in the visual language of ‘SNL,’ leading the costume design team that has helped shape some of the show’s funniest moments.
‘Weekend Update’ ranks the anchors
What’s “SNL” without “Weekend Update”? Colin Jost and Michael Che kicked off the segment with jokes about the show’s awards (95 Emmys, one Grammy, three Peabody awards and over 100 Tonys — on the crew) and how they “did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space” amid outbreaks of the flu, COVID-19, RSV and norovirus. Che also paid tribute to Norm MacDonald, the unforgettable fan-favorite anchor, and alluded to his unrelenting O.J. Simpson jokes.
Cecily Strong played “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party,” who flubs words too big for her and tells Che, “There are people in Africa. You should know that, read a phone.” Bobby Moynihan popped in as the 70-something “Drunk Uncle” who impregnated her and begins to sob as he sings Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” They were followed by Michael’s closest friends, played by Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer, who seemed very afraid of the show’s creator.
But the standout of “Update” was Bill Murray’s ranking of the best anchors — best Black anchor went to Che, the only Black anchor. The ranking began with Colin Quinn, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, Seth Meyers, Fey and Jimmy Fallon, and Fey and Poehler. And yes, Chase was the original anchor, but Murray left him out and rounded out the top three with Curtin and Dan Aykroyd, MacDonald and lastly, his brother Brian Doyle-Murray. — Maira Garcia
Big Red’s legs will scare you straight
Watching Will Ferrell in prison booty shorts showing off his pasty white legs feels like a crazy way to soothe the Sunday scaries. And yet, it worked. — Y.V.
Bonus: The Culps do Kendrick Lamar on ‘SNL50: The Homecoming Concert’
The weekend-long celebration kicked off on Friday with a concert featuring performances by living legends including Cher, David Byrne, Snoop Dogg and, of course, Marty Culp and Bobbi Mohan-Culp. Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer reprised the music teacher duo, who performed a medley of (mostly) contemporary hits in their signature, overly formal style. There was Doechii’s “Denial Is a River” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” but most important of all there was the Culps’ strangely mesmerizing cover of “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track and Super Bowl standout. As she nailed the song’s signature riff in Bobbi’s operatic voice, Gasteyer reminded everyone at Radio City Music Hall what a star she has always been. — M.B.
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