Saturday Night Live, known simply as SNL to fans, has been a core part of the late-night TV circuit for half a century now. Since 1975, the sketch comedy series has aired every Saturday night from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. It’s the perfect cozy-night-in view or, more than likely nowadays, Sunday morning watch from the PVR.
Of course, some have opted to wait and catch only the best moments via viral clips online. But ldeem it worth watching or not, SNL has endured through five decades, numerous cast member changes, and constant calls for its demise.
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is a four-part docuseries that celebrates the cast, writers, and behind-the-scenes inner workings of the show. It’s well-executed and beautifully presented with moments of laughter and tears that leave you wanting more. As a fan of the show who also recognizes its shortcomings and lows along with the highs, I found myself enthralled with this short and sweet celebration of the series’ long and storied history.
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night Review
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is delivered in four neat one-hour episodes, each with its own theme that pays homage to the show and various aspects that make it happen at such a rapid-fire pace. It airs live every week, which means there’s barely a week to put together an entire episode. That means writing sketches, working with the host, building sets and props, rehearsing, and paring things down to a manageable (and hopefully consistently funny) hour and 15 minutes or so (minus commercials) of television. If you thought your job was tough, the pressures this staff feels permeate through the screen.
Episode One: “Five Minutes”
The first episode, called “Five Minutes,” highlights cast members past and present. Each one is interviewed while recalling their auditions for the show. They talk about how and when they found out they were cast and memorable moments from their tenure there, some of whom are still on the show today. Each person is shown footage from their audition to watch with fondness, sometimes even regret, horror, or embarrassment. It’s one of the more heartwarming episodes and a perfect way to kick off the docuseries. We might be quick to criticize these comedians on their performances, but as this episode shows, they have no bigger critics than themselves.
Episode Two: “Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room”
Episode two entitled “Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room” is a love letter to the hardworking writers who don’t get the recognition they deserve. It chronicles the grueling process of working all hours of the day and night to come up with and perfect a sketch that might never even make it to air. Once it’s ready, they present it and wait to find out if the idea will proceed or all your work was wasted. Tense and enlightening, this episode sheds light on underappreciated talent, some also cast members, who quietly deal with the fallout when a sketch doesn’t perform as expected, and all the pressure in creating it in the first place.
You’ll learn, for example, that the writers are also responsible for getting everything necessary to build and prep the sketch if it’s approved. Even then, the sketch may still end up on the cutting room floor when creator Lorne Michaels makes his final decision at dress rehearsal. Even if it makes it through, it may not look anything like originally intended after its upteenth revision.
The writers for the show have thick skin, creative minds, a wicked sense of humor, and a talent for working on very little sleep. A quirky, unique bunch, this episode is arguably the most fascinating of the four. If you have ever heard rumors of cast members in tears when a sketch doesn’t make it to air, this episode will give you some insight as to why that’s such a big deal.
Episode 3: “More Cowbell”
If you love SNL, you have seen the “More Cowbell” sketch starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken. It’s one of the most popular sketches ever in the history of the show. Despite its simplistic nature, every cast member nails their role, even when ones like Jimmy Fallon break character (as he was known for almost always doing). Walken, meanwhile, brought the same vigor and intensity to the character he would if he was appearing in a blockbuster film, which made it even more believable. This hour-long episode seems slightly stretched to fill time, but it walks you through the behind-the-scenes of the sketch from start to finish and discusses how its popularity has continued to grow.
Hear from the people who were the inspiration behind the characters, those who believe they deserve credit for introducing the cowbell sound to the Blue Oyster Cult song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” that’s featured in the sketch, and the actors themselves. The commentary about what was happening and going on in the minds’ of each of the characters as the scene was playing out will have you in stitches all over again.
The sketch is also a wonderful reminder of just how funny Ferrell is and how his talent was far too big for the show. It’s also enlightening about how much impact a host can have on an episode. Chris Parnell’s incredible knack for never losing focus nor breaking character during these live sketches suggests he’s also perhaps one of the show’s more underrated former cast members.
Episode Four: “Season 11: The Weird Year”
Finally, the show ends with “Season 11: The Weird Year,” examining the year when SNL technically got cancelled. Marking the return of Michaels to the show, he made sweeping changes, including replacing the entire cast in hopes that he could bring the show back to its lustre. He failed miserably, bringing on cast members who didn’t fit live comedy, didn’t mesh well with one another, or simply weren’t given good material. This is the year when people like Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, and Joan Cusack were overshadowed by the only standout cast member: Jon Lovitz. The cast is a who’s who in Hollywood movies, but they stuck out like a sore thumb for the show.
With scenes that weren’t funny or didn’t hit well, Michaels quickly realized that a younger, fresher audience wasn’t what the show needed. The season ended in one of the weirdest ways possible, with Michaels creating a sketch that effectively advised the cast (and NBC) in not so many words that everyone (except Lovitz) was fired and he was going back to the drawing board, if given the chance to do so.
SNL was indeed given that one last chance and came back to air a 12th season, which led to 38 more and counting. It’s a testament to how bumps in the road don’t always mean a show is set for demise. With commentary from writers and cast members of that “weird” season, including Damon Wayans Jr. who was famously fired immediately following a sketch, the episode is a nostalgic look back for those who recall watching and enlightening for those who never saw the dreaded season.
Should You Watch SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night Live?
If you’re a fan of SNL either today or were once upon a time, you’ll appreciate this docuseries and gain newfound respect for everything that goes into making each episode of the show. You might even find yourself cutting it some slack when a sketch, even an entire episode, doesn’t hit just right. New fans will love the first two episodes, which dive into members of the new cast as well as old. The latter two episodes, meanwhile, are total throwbacks.
There are some notable omissions throughout the docuseries. You won’t hear from legendary cast members like Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Mike Myers. It’s unclear if they chose not to participate or if there simply wasn’t enough time to include interviews with every single cast member who has ever been on the show.
And that brings me to a crucial point: while I absolutely loved SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night and found it to be one of the best docuseries of its kind that I have seen in some time, it needs more. I would easily watch four more episodes going behind the scenes of some of the best seasons or even most iconic sketches or recurring characters.
It’s interesting that while the docuseries uses one episode to highlight the worst season that almost spelled its demise, season 11 isn’t the only time SNL’s days have been numbered in the eyes of the public. Every year or with every new batch of cast members, people declare that the show is “unfunny,” “over,” and “past its prime.” I have heard people question more times than I can count “is that show still on?” No one watches it, apparently, yet everyone knows about it.
Against all odds, SNL endures with no end in sight. Michaels, who we can proudly say is Canadian and hails from Toronto, remains at the helm and continues to be a driving force in everything that goes on. And he controls every aspect of it. From the cast members and writers who are hired to which sketches make it to air, he’s the gatekeeper. Based on the docuseries, this may be the secret sauce that has kept the show going all this time.
Will SNL last another 50 years? It’s tough to say. It’s concept makes the show easily adaptable in format, subject matter, and cast members. The future of SNL may be all up to Michaels, his potential plans to pass the torch, which hands it might end up in, and NBC’s desire to keep the 11:30 p.m. slot filled with this series. For now, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night pays respect to the most enduring sketch comedy series in the history of television. Love it or hate it, SNL has been the launchpad for some of the biggest comedic talents of the last half century. Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Dana Carvey – the list goes on. Working on the show is no easy feat, but it’s a rite of passage for comic actors. And many of them, it seems, wouldn’t have any other way.
Stream SNL50: Behind Saturday Night on Peacock in the U.S. or watch on NBC.