Saturday Night Live kicked off its 50th anniversary special with a packed lineup of past performers and hosts, celebrity cameos and musical guests from the storied stage in Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon starred in the cold open segment on the main stage with an emotional rendition of “Homeward Bound,” which Simon performed on the show in 1976 with George Harrison.
“I was not born then and neither were my parents,” Carpenter said.
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Steve Martin was given the honor of delivering the opening monologue, calling himself the how’s “newest diversity hire” for a monologue that’s “like a rent-controlled tenant: it’s not going anywhere, and it stinks.”
Former writer John Mulaney joined the stage to note there have been 894 hosts over the last 50 years, and amazingly, “only two who committed murder.”
Martin’s long-time friend and former SNL cast member Martin Short briefly joined him on stage, saying he thought he was co-hosting the event — before Steve Martin called a pair of faux Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to haul the Canadian actor out of the studio.
Homeward Bound - Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/IjXx62slKH
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) February 17, 2025
The mega show airing on NBC and Peacock also included appearance from former cast members Kristen Wiig, Ana Gasteyer, Tracy Morgan, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and many others, with former hosts and other celebrities — including Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson — joining sketches throughout the program.
The show was reportedly a massive undertaking; SNL production designer Keith Raywood has been working on the show for 40 of the show's 50 years, and said the studio was prepared for more than double the people it holds on a typical Saturday night.
“We [will] have about 450 people in the studio, which is essentially about 200 people more than we would normally have,” he toldThe New York Post.
The majority of the in-house audience were friends and family of the special guests coming out to celebrate and appear in the show.
Naturally, all of SNL's current cast were set to be on screen for the massive reunion.
#SNL50 monologue! pic.twitter.com/1L4xgiZ9r1
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) February 17, 2025
The show was the cherry on top of a weekend of anniversary specials, including a three-hour “Homecoming Concert” at Radio City Music Hall on Friday and a rebroadcast of the show's first episode from October 11, 1975, and an Empire State Building lighting in honor of the show’s legendary run.
The concert included performances by Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Bonnie Raitt, Cher, Chris Martin, Dave Grohl, David Byrne, Devo, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Robyn, Snoop Dogg, the B-52s and many others.
NBC then re-aired the very first episode of SNL. on Saturday, airing on the heels of Jason Reitman’s 2024 film Saturday Night, which captures longtime producer Lorne Michaels managing 90 minutes of chaos and tension leading up to the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live.
The last major SNL anniversary aired in 2015, which celebrated the show's 40th anniversary.
