Everything we know About SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night- A Celebration of 5 Decades

This year, Morgan Neville, an acclaimed Academy and Emmy award-winning documentarian, is honoring the show that has become almost an American tradition with the SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night docuseries. Saturday Night Live began airing on Oct. 11, 1975, although back then it was called NBC's Saturday Night. 

It got the name that we know it for in 1977. Since then multiple celebrities have hosted it and many have also become a part of the show. The four-part docuseries takes a look at the history of the beloved series with every episode offering a lookback into how the show began. 

It will also act as a micro time capsule that will showcase major eras, skits, and more of the sketch series. Want to know which celebrities will be featured across the four episodes? Stay tuned as we will discuss everything from the plot to cast details and more! Also, we will keep updating this article with new information as and when they are available. 

Release date and Where to Watch 

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night will air on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, on Peacock. Every season of SNL as well as the new episodes can be streamed on Peacock as well.  

Along with this, Ladies & Gentleman… 50 years of SNL Music, will be released on Jan. 27, 2025, while a live primetime special will be released on Feb. 16, 2025, on NBC and Peacock.

Episode Guide and plot of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night

Episode 1- Five Minutes: This episode will cover the audition process and include what it takes to go on the SNL stage. The episode will feature footage from alums that haven’t been seen before. It is directed by Emmy Award winner Robert Alexander. 

Episode 2- Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room: As the name suggests, the episode, directed by Academy Award winner Marshall Curry, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process and what it takes to bring the script to screen. 

Episode 3- More Cowbell: The third episode is helmed by Emmy nominee Neil Berkeley and it will cover the iconic Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken sketch. 

Episode 4- Season 11: The Weird Year: Directed by Emmy nominee Jason Zeldes, this episode will cover SNL’s 11th year which was a turning point for the series. 

Is There a Trailer for SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night?

The trailer for SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night begins with Kenan Thompson saying, “Anybody could do Comedy, I could teach all y’all here how to tell jokes and do comedy, but are you funny?” The docuseries will look back at some of the most iconic moments of the show and this includes the most memorable and funniest lines. 

Also, it will shine the spotlight on the often overlooked writers who are the ones creating the funny sketches and gags that have entertained audiences for decades. Check it out below:

Who Celebrities are a part of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night?

Here’s a list of all the celebrities who will be in SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night:

Episode 1- Five Minutes: Amy Poehler, Ayala Cohen, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Beck Bennett, Bowen Yang, David Spade, Mike Shoemaker, Jay Pharaoh, Cheri Oteri, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Jason Sudeikis, Kyle Mooney, Jeff Blake, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,  Joe Piscopo, Kenan Thompson, Fred Armisen, Lindsay Shookus, Marci Klein, Nasim Pedrad, Pete Davidson, Molly Shannon, Stephen Colbert, and Tracy Morgan.

Episode 2- Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room: Andrew Dismukes, Alan Zweibel, Alex English, Tina Fey, Asha Ward, Paula Pell, Ben Marshall, Harper Steele, Larry David, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman, Ceara O’Sullivan, Celeste Yim, Bryan Tucker, Emily Spivey, Seth Meyers, Jim Downey, Jimmy Fowlie, Al Franken, John Higgins, John Mulaney, Louie Zakarian, Marilyn Miller, Martin Herlihy, Robert Smigel, Simon Rich, Steve Higgins, and Streeter Seidell.

Episode 3- More Cowbell: Akira Yoshimura, Eamon Cunningham, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Louie Zakarian, Josh Homme, Bruce Dickinson, Buck Dharma, Cara Hannah, David Lucas, Rachel Dratch, Chris Kattan, Albert Bouchard, Chris Parnell, Dana Carvey, Dave Grohl, Albert Bouchard, Dave Itzkoff, Albert Bouchard, Eric Bloom, Fred Armisen, John Karpi, Tom Broecker, Keith Raywood, Larry Demler, Murray Krugman, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, and Jodi Mancuso. 

Episode 4- Season 11: The Weird Year: A. Whitney Brown, Nora Dunn, Al Franken, Andy Breckman, Damon Wayans, James Andrew Miller, George Meyer, John Lithgow, George Wendt, Griffin Dunne, Billy Crystal, Jim Downey, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Carol Leifer, Laila Nabulsi, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Smigel, Mark McKinney, Penn & Teller, Terry Sweeney, and Tom Hanks. 

Additional archival interviews include Bernie Brillstein, Lorne Michaels, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Davis.

Behind the Scenes

Neville and Caitrin Rogers have executive produced SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. Juaquin Cambron is the showrunner and executive producer. Neville said in a press statement (via Variety), “For ‘SNL50,’ I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite independent filmmakers to tell some deeper stories of ‘SNL.’ Taken together, these standalone episodes give a new perspective of ‘SNL’ and what makes it work.”