“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” The line was said on a whim by actor and comedian Chevy Chase on the premiere of Saturday Night Live in 1975, created by Lorne Micheals, and now, it’s the tagline for one of the biggest live-television shows ever created. On February 16th, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50-year anniversary with a 3 hour special full of iconic sketches, celebrity appearances, and unforgettable music guests.

The special was a memorable trip throughout the history of the late-night comedy show, bringing iconic sketches back to the screen as well as featuring some of the most legendary Saturday Night Live cast members.

With a whopping 15 million viewers, the episode was everything and more for both new and longtime fans of the show!

Image Credit: Anthony Quintano from Wikimedia Commons

Here are some of the most memorable and talked-about moments from the special!

Domingo Vow Renewal Sketch

As a Sabrina Carpenter and Pedro Pascal superfan-this sketch was everything!

In this sketch, Sabrina Carpenter gathers Kelsey’s bridesmaids from the original “Bridesmade’s speech” sketch to sing a hilarious (and tone-deaf) rendition of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked and “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift about their girl’s trip to New York City. Sabrina hilariously pretends to butcher the riff at the end of Defying Gravity, (which to be honest, sounded a lot like me trying to sing it).

At the end of “You Belong With Me”, Domingo (Marcello Hernandez) re-appears and sings along with the bridesmaids, yet again poking fun at the couple and how Kelsey still isn’t over him.

But Domingo isn’t the only party crasher!

Matt’s groomsmen, “The Doormats” portrayed by SNL alumni Andy Samberg, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, along with Bowen Yang go up on stage and sing about their guys trip to the lyrics of “Espresso” By Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina ironically joins the guys on stage as they reveal that Matt cheated on Kelsey with Domingo’s brother, Ronaldo (Pedro Pascal).

“Matthew, I'm here!” he exclaimed, referencing Domingo’s iconic line, singing as Sabrina danced at his side.

And as if this fever dream of a sketch couldn’t have gotten any better-even Bad Bunny made an appearance at the end of the sketch, exposing himself as the brother of Ronaldo and Domingo! The sketch wrapped up with the brothers singing their own version of “Espresso” and Sabrina re-attempting the “Defying Gravity” battle cry.

Recently, Marcello Hernandez was “arrested” on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet Tour for being “too hot”, and for her to join the sketch makes this even more iconic. I thought that this was a super funny sketch with some insane star power, providing a hilarious ending to an ongoing series of sketches that will for sure go down in SNL history.

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Musical Guests

On top of featuring in sketches like Sabrina Carpenter, Nick Jonas, and Lin Manuel Miranda-So many musical ICONS grazed SNL’s stage throughout the show, garnering performances from the newer generation of stars such as Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, but also paid homage to the music legends like Paul Mccartney and Paul Simon in incredible performances.

Celebrity Q&A

Another highlight of the show was the star-studded celebrity Q&A that turned heads and sparked conversation on social media for its scandalous references. Hosted by SNL Alumni Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, stars Quinta Bronson from Abbott Elementary and football legend Peyton Manning took turns asking questions relating to the show, in which Tina and Amy Poeher responded in witty responses.

The moment that's been gaining lots of traction was when Ryan Reynolds got up to ask a question. He’d been asked “how’s it going?” by Amy and Tina, which he responded with “Great. why, what have you heard?” in a frantic manner. The response was a subtle (but not so subtle) reference to the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni for the alleged sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.

People online believe that the joke was unjust given the severity of the allegations and the situation, and especially right after the court date had been finalized for the two of them. This interaction and the Q&A section as a whole demonstrated SNL’s ability to not be intimidated by touchy subjects.

Revisited Sketches and Weekend Update

Many sketches were revived for the SNL 50 Special, such as:

“Close Encounters”, Starring Kate Mckinnon, Pedro Pascal (yet again, I live for the Pedro content), Meryl Streep, and Woody Harrelson.

“Black Jeopardy”, with Tracy Morgan, Eddie Murphy, Leslie Jones, and Chris Rock.

And most importantly, “Debbie Downer” played Rachel Dratch, starring Jimmy Fallon, Ayo Edebri, and Drew Barrymore!

In addition to the revised sketches, the special also included the fan-favorite Weekend Update with anchors Colin Jost and Micheal Che. Former SNL Alumni like Cecily Strong and Fred Armisen joined the two at the table and played hilariously vibrant characters before the legendary former Weekend Update anchor Bill Murray made an appearance.

He ranked the best anchors of the segment of all time. The skit was a full-circle moment for the show as he used his deadpan and dark humor to capture the hearts of the viewers, referencing and poking fun of past anchors like Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and Tina Fey, while also paying heartfelt respect to Norman MacDonald.

Respect For The Beginnings of SNL

And or course, what would the celebration of 50 years of SNL be without a trip through time?

Adam Sandler performed a song recalling the most memorable moments of being in the SNL atmosphere, providing a funny insight into working on the show, mentioning late-night pizza and having a sketch fail at dress rehearsal. Besides from his goofy-fun-loving segment, he also emotionally commemorated the first cast, recognizing that because of their efforts, SNL is able to be what it is today. He acknowledged comedic legends that have passed like Gilda Radner, Norm Macdonald, Phil Hartman, & Chris Farley-which made me tear up.

Speaking of the first cast, the biggest tear-jerker of mine from the night was Garrett Morris’ appearance. Garrett Morris was one of the original SNL Cast members from 1975-1980, and the first black member. He introduced the 1978 snl short film “Don't look back in anger”, which featured all of the original cast. The recognition for the first pioneers of comedy was such a special and heartfelt part of the special.

New York: The Musical

In my opinion, the most memorable highlight of the night was the parody musical performed about New York City by the present and past members of the SNL cast, featuring celebrities like Adam Driver, Lin Manuel-Miranda, and Scarlet Johansson. The skit starts off in the format of one of John Mulaney’s iconic subway sketches, in which he takes Pete Davidson and Kevin Spade throughout the dramatized history of New York.

The sketch gives hilarious renditions of musical theater songs like “Hakuna Matana” from Lion King, “My Shot” From Hamilton and “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors, to make fun of New York’s most negative attributes such as Time Square mascots, E-bikes, and corrupt politicians.

But most of all, what stuck out to me the most in this sketch was the end, where the cast came together to sing “One Day More” from Les Miserables, proclaiming their love for New York no matter what. This sketch reiterates that despite the ever so changing culture, SNL at its core is a love letter to New York, no matter the good, bad, and ugly.

“50 years of the best time of our lives,” - Adam Sandler

Image Credit: NBCUniversal from Wikimedia Commons

Conclusion

In September of 2024, I went on an NBC studios tour the Sunday after the Season 50 premiere, and all I can say is that just being the atmosphere of the show is pure magic. Watching the SNL 50 special deepened my passion for the show and makes me even more excited to stay up late on Saturday nights, even when I have plans on Sunday morning.

As a teenager, the world can feel scary and uncertain, and for me, SNL has provided an escape for me through its comedy. Putting the show on every Saturday feels like a moment of peace, being able to fangirl over their pop culture references while dying of laughter reminds me that humor can still prevail in the hardest times.

The show honoring it’s long lasting legacy solidified it's generational and cultural impact. Seeing how many people are impacted by this show, fans and cast members alike display that it’s more than just a comedy show, it’s a pop-culture time capsule. The show has made so many amazing careers and has given opportunities to so many deserving comedians and writers, and has made me dream about what it’d be like to possibly be on that stage one day, making people laugh. It successfully provided a nostalgic view into the last 50 years of the greatest show of all time.