Everyone’s favorite sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, will celebrate its 50th anniversary by re-airing its first episode. On February 15, NBC will broadcast the first SNL episode a day after a three-hour special for the anniversary. Additionally, a special episode will air the next day with a multitude of special guests, some whom are already announced and others as surprises.
SNL’s first episode originally aired on October 11, 1975, hosted by comedian George Carlin. You may remember from his iconic comedy special about the seven forbidden words you cannot say on air. At the time the show was actually not SNL, but instead called NBC’s Saturday Night. The recent film Saturday Night follows the hectic process of the show broadcasting live for the first time. It is not the best film in the world, but it definitely gives insight into that October night.
In a similar fashion to today’s SNL, there were musical guests, specifically Billy Preston and Janice Ian. NBC’s Saturday Night had its own ensemble cast that included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. Just like present-day, they had special guests Andy Kaufman and Muppets creator Jim Henson.
On February 14, before the re-airing of the first SNL episode, NBC is broadcasting a compilation of popular holiday sketches from the show’s history. Right after the broadcasting of the first episode, the documentary directed by Questlove, Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, will air.
NBC is doing a slew of events for the 50th anniversary to lead up to “SNL50: The Anniversary Episode” on February 16, which has a number of confirmed special guests, including Quinta Brunson, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Robert De Niro, Ayo Edebiri, Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, and many more. For more information on all the guests coming back and what’s airing when, head to SNL‘s Instagram.