A star-studded cast have taken part in a three-hour special to celebrate the 50th anniversary of legendary US comedy show Saturday Night Live.
The SNL50 show took place on Sunday (not Saturday) – but it was live, as always, from Studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Centre.
The programme, famed for its sketches and celebrity hosts, premiered in October 1975 and is responsible for launching the careers of comedy legends including Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray.
Some returned for the anniversary special, alongside younger acts. Here are some of the highlights:
Flashback hit
Woman of the moment Sabrina Carpenter kicked off the show by performing a duet alongside Paul Simon of folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel. The pair sang a rendition of the band’s 1966 hit Homeward Bound.
Simon first appeared on the comedy series back in 1976, singing the same song with The Beatles’ George Harrison.
Espresso singer Carpenter joked that neither she nor her parents had been born then.
Nirvana reunite (again)
Nirvana returned to the stage with surprise guest Post Malone – introduced by actor Adam Sandler. The actor reminisced about the original bandmates’ last SNL performance with frontman Kurt Cobain shortly before his death.
Post Malone joined Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to play the band’s iconic hit Smells Like Teen Spirit.
It came after the surviving members of the 90s rock band reunited for another special performance last month to raise money for the LA fires relief fund.
Nod to legal drama
SNL’s jokes regularly centre around politics or news events, so it seemed unlikely that one of the most high-profile current celebrity showdowns – between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively – would be spared.
The It Ends With Us stars are currently embroiled in a bitter legal dispute, with a court date set for 2026.
In what appeared to be a reference to the drama, Lively’s husband (who is also named in the complaint) Ryan Reynolds was part of a Q&A in which Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared on stage to take questions from the audience.
Asked how he was doing, Reynolds replied “Great!” Then, seeming concerned, he asked: “Why, what have you heard?”
Aubrey Plaza returns
Director and screenwriter Jeff Baena died in January at the age of 47. The pair had been together for more than a decade and married in 2021.
On Sunday, Plaza popped up in the audience to introduce Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard for a performance of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U.
She paid tribute to Baena wearing a tie-dye shirt – it is unclear if it belonged to him but the couple wore tie-dye outfits for their wedding after the director got into the hobby during Covid.
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Streep debut
An almost unrecognisable Meryl Streep made her SNL debut in a sketch hitting on Pedro Pascal and calling her character a “bad girl”.
She also referenced her iconic film in which she played fierce fashion boss Miranda Priestly, joking: “This devil wears nada.”
Blast from the past
What would this special be without a face from the very first season of the show? It was fitting for Garrett Morris, an original cast member and the first black person on set of Saturday Night Live, to return to the studio.
He started the sketch declaring “I am Garrett Morris” to a big cheer, and joked that back when he joined the cast he had “no idea ya’ll that I would be required to do so many reunion shows”.
Domingo and his brothers
Domingo was back. There was no surprise that arguably the most viral character of the last season would return for this special.
Previously, we saw him at the wedding of Kelsey and Matt, when her bridesmaids revealed in a musical ensemble that she had been having an affair with Domingo.
On the anniversary special, Domingo’s brothers turned up at the couple’s vow renewal. Santiago, aka musician Bad Bunny, and Reynaldo, played by Pedro Pascal, joined in when the groomsmen formed their own ensemble.
It was revealed, this time round, that Matt and Santiago had got to know one another.
Kim K is back
The last time Kim Kardashian was on SNL, she made headlines for kissing comedian Pete Davidson on Aladdin’s magic carpet – a kiss that was rumoured to be the start of their relationship.
On Sunday, Kardashian returned for an updated version of the singing Maharelle Sisters with former cast members Ana Gasteyer, Kristen Wiig and Scarlett Johansson – whose husband is the regular “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost.
Sandler sings SNL cast list
Introduced by his rarely seen Anger Management co-star Jack Nicholson, actor Adam Sandler sang about the show’s history.
He gave a long list of previous cast members, noting several who had died including veteran SNL-ers Chris Farley and Norm MacDonald along with Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman.
Spoof tributes to yesteryears
Tom Hanks, wearing a black suit and tie, aptly performed a spoof segment named “In Memoriam”.
He introduced a tribute to “SNL characters and sketches that have aged horribly”, describing the subsequent montage as “unquestionably in poor taste”.
He pointed out to the audience in spite of that: “You all laughed at them. So if anyone should be cancelled, shouldn’t it be you the audience? Something to think about.”
