SNL Celebrates its 50th Anniversary
Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary at Radio City Music Hall in New York on February 16. The show ran for over three hours with an extensive list, to name a few: Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Sir Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Ryan Reynolds, Sabrina Carpenter, Pedro Pascal, and a whole lot more. There were performances that night from well-known artists: Cher, Sir Paul McCartney, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, The Backstreet Boys, and Bad Bunny; and appearances from SNL alumni Jimmy Fallon, Bill Murray, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Will Ferrell, and more.
The special aired with numerous sketches and iconic moments. Some highlighted sketches and moments of the special are: Black Jeopardy! with Kenan Thomson opening the sketch along with Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, and Eddie Murphy–Eddie Murphy continued to crack his cast members up throughout the skit, even catching the cameraman off guard with his ad-libs.
The digital short “Anxiety” features Andy Samberg and Bowie Yang. Samberg sings about the anxiety that SNL members have dealt with during their time on the show, mentioning members such as Danny Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, and Billy Crystal. The pre-filmed video shares clips from earlier SNL episodes to bring just enough nostalgia for long-time SNL fans.
Rachel Dratch reprised her role as Debbie Downer in Sketch Bar. Debbie Downer is depicted as a bartender who constantly brings up negative topics such as microplastics and bird flu, irritating the customers (played by Jimmy Fallon, Ayo Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, and Robert De Niro), but they eventually invite her to join them in a toast.
The 50th special ended as the cast members gathered to bid a thank you and a good night to all the viewers who tuned in to watch the 50th-year celebration of SNL.
