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Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special

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 Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special
 Season 50 episode
 Episode 5050
 Season Episode 50
 Host Steve Martin and Martin Short
 Musical Guest(s) Paul Simon
Sabrina Carpenter
Miley Cyrus
Brittany Howard
Lil Wayne
The Roots
Paul McCartney
 Song(s) performed by
 Musical Guest(s) 		"Homeward Bound"
"Nothing Compares 2 U"
"50 Years"
A Medley of:
"Uproar",
"Lollipop"
"6 Foot 7 Foot"
"Mrs. Officer"
and "A Milli"
"Golden Slumbers"
"Carry That Weight"
"The End"
Previous Episode
January 25, 2025 		Next Episode
March 1, 2025

The "Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special" (also billed as "SNL50: The Anniversary Special") is a three-hour television special to commemorate the 50th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live. It aired primetime on Sunday February 16, 2025, on NBC and Peacock and, like the 40th Anniversary Special, was preceded by two hour-long live red carpet specials: one was hosted by Amelia Dimoldenberg for SNL's social media such as YouTube; Willie Geist, Leslie Jones, and Matt Rogers hosted the pre-show on NBC. The special was watched by nearly 15 million viewers.[5][6]

Headliners were announced on February 6, 2025, 10 days prior to the premiere of the special. Some cast members who would show up in the special were revealed four days later on February 10, 2025.

Some more names were spoiled and revealed in a recent New York Times photo two days ahead of the 50th, in which they were interviewing executive producer Lorne Michaels.[1][2]

Synopsis[]

The special followed the format of a typical Saturday Night Live episode, extended to 3½ hours instead of the usual 1½, and included a cold open, a monologue, sketches, a short film, commercial parodies, and musical performances.[5][6]

Cast[]

Performers[]

Writers[]

Several past writers for the show returned to become "staff writers" for the special, including Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, and John Mulaney.

Audience members[]

Sketches and Musical Performances[]

 Cold Open   Sketch   Pre-recorded   Weekend Update   Music Performance   Other 

Title Image Summary
Paul Simon & Sabrina Carpenter performed "Homeward Bound" Cold Open Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter perform "Homeward Bound" for SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
Opening Montage
SNL 50th Monologue by Steve Martin Steve Martin hosted featuring cameos from John Mulaney and Martin Short, with David Letterman in the audience.
The Lawrence Welk Show & The Maharelle Sisters Fred Armisen as Lawrence Welk, Will Ferrell as Robert Goulet, Kristin Wiig as Denise, Ana Gasteyer as Margaret, Kim Kardashian as Holly, and Scarlett Johansson as Janice. Kenan Thompson briefly appears.
Black Jeopardy Kenan Thompson reprises his role as Black Jeopardy! host Darnell Hayes with Leslie Jones as Shanice, Tracy Morgan as Darius, Eddie Murphy as Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock as a Special Guest Clue, and Tom Hanks reprising his role as Doug.
Physical Comedy Through the Years Highlight Reel Emma Stone and Molly Shannon as Sally O'Malley presented a montage dedicated to physical comedy on SNL.
"Domingo" Sketch Martin Short and Molly Shannon as parents of the bride, Chloe Fineman and Andrew Dismukes as the couple, Sabrina Carpenter, Heidi Gardner, Sarah Sherman, and Ego Nwodim as bridesmaids, Andy Samberg, Bowen Yang, Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney as the Groomsmen, Marcello Hernandez as Domingo, Pedro Pascal as Renaldo, and Bad Bunny as Santiago.
Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey Handey's voice reminisces about 50 years of SNL, but values his salary above anything.
Audience Q&A Segment Tina Fey and Amy Poehler answer questions from audience members Quinta Brunson, Tim Meadows, Ryan Reynolds, Nate Bargatze, Donna Richards (host dresser), Jon Lovitz, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Adam Driver, Cher, Keith Richards, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, Bad Bunny, Seth Meyers, Al Sharpton, Ray Romano, Jason Momoa, Fred Armisen, and Peyton Manning.
An SNL50 Digital Short Bowen Yang, Andy Samberg, Sarah Sherman, Chris Parnell, Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, Will Forte, and Kyle Mooney appear in a musical pre-taped digital short about anxiety at SNL.
Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard performed “Nothing Compares 2 U” with The Roots, introduced by Aubrey Plaza
Weekend Update 50th Anniversary Edition with Colin Jost and Michael Che Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che celebrate SNL's 50th season and speak with The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party and Drunk Uncle (Cecily Strong, Bobby Moynihan) before welcoming Seth Meyers to speak with “Lorne's Best Friends from Growing Up” (Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer) and inviting Bill Murray to rank his favorite Weekend Update anchors of all time.
"Close Encounters" sketch Aidy Bryant and Jon Hamm play officials investigating an alien abduction. Kate McKinnon reprises her role as Colleen Rafferty with Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson playing other abductees and Meryl Streep playing Colleen Sr., Rafferty's mother.
"Chad: The Stagehand" pre-taped sketch Laraine Newman reminiscences being around Studio 8H and meets Chad (Pete Davidson). Cameo from Mikey Day.
Adam Sandler and writer Dan Bulla performed a tribute song "50 Years," introduced by Jack Nicholson.
"Moving to New York" musical sketch Musical sketch featuring John Mulaney as Big Nick, Pete Davidson, David Spade, Adam Driver, Maya Rudolph, Emil Wakim, Alex Moffat, Nathan Lane, Chloe Fineman, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Paul Shaffer, G. E. Smith, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Nick Jonas, Bad Bunny, Taran Killam, and Ana Gasteyer with Kate McKinnon reprising her role as Rudy Giuliani, Lin-Manuel Miranda reprising his role as Alexander Hamilton, Sarah Sherman as Michael Bloomberg, and Devon Walker as Eric Adams. Audience members Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner also take part, perhaps unintentionally, sitting between two of the singers performing from the risers.
Commercial parody clip montage Alec Baldwin introduces a montage of commercial parodies with Sarah Sherman.
"Bronx Beat with Betty & Jodi" Sketch Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph as Betty and Jodi with Miles Teller and Mike Myers who reprises his role as Linda Richman.
Lil Wayne and The Roots performed a medley, including "Uproar", "Lollipop", "6 Foot 7 Foot", "Mrs. Officer", and "A Milli," introduced by Dave Chappelle.
In Memoriam to cancelled sketches, SNL cast and crew members and hosts Tom Hanks presents an In Memoriam to cancelled characters, stereotypes, jokes in poor taste, or "sketches that have aged horribly", as well as the tribute to late SNL cast and crew members and hosts.
"Debbie Downer" sketch Jimmy Fallon, Ayo Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, and Robert De Niro with Rachel Dratch reprising her role as Debbie Downer working as a bartender.
"Scared Straight" sketch Sketch featuring Eddie Murphy, Kenan Thompson reprising his role as Lorenzo McIntosh, Will Ferrell, Jason Sudeikis reprising his role as Officer Sikorski, Mikey Day, Michael Longfellow, and Marcello Hernandez.
"Don't Look Back in Anger" short Garrett Morris introduced the Schiller's Reel short, "Don't Look Back in Anger" starring John Belushi.
Paul McCartney performed "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"/"The End,'" introduced by Martin Short.
SNL Goodnights and Closing Credits Martin Short salutes the original cast and thanks Lorne Michaels on-stage as they began the famous SNL goodnights to end the night with the rest of the entertainers.

Trivia[]

  • On February 14, 2025, it was confirmed that alumni Dan Aykroyd and Bill Hader would not be able to attend the anniversary special, due to scheduling conflicts.

References[]

Preceded by:
January 25, 2025 		Saturday Night Live episode Followed by:
March 1, 2025
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