‘Saturday Night Live’ announces three-hour 50th anniversary special

Saturday Night Live has announced it will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year with a three-hour primetime special on NBC.

The tribute will air live on February 16, 2025 – which is a Sunday – and will be part of a “celebratory weekend” for the show.

No further details about the show have been shared, although earlier this year, creator Lorne Michaels did indicate plans for such a special.

“We’re doing the 50th anniversary show in February of ’25, so I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that, and sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do,” he said.

NBC ran a similar tribute for the show’s 40th birthday in 2015, featuring appearances from countless alumni from SNL history, including Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Will Ferrell, Norm MacDonald and Tina Fey.

A feature film about the show’s premiere episode on October 11, 1975 is also in the works. Titled SNL 1975, it is set to be directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air, Ghostbusters: Afterlife).

The film will be based on real-life accounts based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan with “all the living cast, writers and crew”.

Gabriel LaBelle from The Fabelmans will portray Michaels, while The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien will play Dan Aykroyd in the film. Succession’s Nicholas Braun takes on the role of Muppets creator Jim Henson, and Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard has also been cast as an unnamed NBC intern.

Bill Murray has also spoken about who he believes should play him. “I like Kenan Thompson; he could play me. Or Bill Hader. Those two… or Kristen Wiig… any of those three could play me. Or Amy Poehler,” he quipped.

Two episodes remain in the current 49th season of the show, with Maya Rudolph set to host tonight (May 11) and Vampire Weekend as the musical guest. The season finale will see Jake Gyllenhaal hosting, with Sabrina Carpenter playing live.

Last week, Chloe Fineman poked fun at JoJo Siwa’s new rebrand, wearing a black and silver sparkly bodysuit and KISS-inspired make-up, spoofing her recent single ‘Karma’. Siwa herself responded, calling it “ICONIC”. “I literally don’t know what to say. This is fucking crazy. 3 and a half minute skit on SNL…“.

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