‘Fifty years of the best times of our lives’: The ‘SNL’ family looks back for ‘SNL50’

At long last, SNL50: The Anniversary Special has come and gone.

In the lead-up to this special, SNL spent the first twelve episodes of its milestone fiftieth season stuck in a weird limbo. These were still normal episodes. There was still a cast that needed to have its own shot at stardom. But then at the same time, Lorne Michaels was bringing in celebrity ringers. Maya Rudolph showed up repeatedly as Kamala Harris. Dana Carvey refused to go home. There were two new Digital Shorts.

SNL finally got to let it rip on Sunday night, celebrating its half-century history in a massive special that ran more than three hours. The special ran past its allotted time. The sketches were longer than normal. (If there is such a thing as too much SNL, SNL50 probably hit that limit.) But there was hopefully something for every SNL fan, no matter which era of the cast brought you into its fandom.

SNL50 featured several montages drawing from its illustrious history. One of the things that struck me most about these montages and the moments within them was that these iconic sketches and legendary cast members achieved that status because they were allowed to flourish on SNL. I hope that’s something that Michaels or whoever eventually takes over for him takes away from this night. It’s special when the SNL family comes together to celebrate its history. But that doesn’t have to be every Saturday night. It’s OK to let the current cast find their own moments that we can celebrate at SNL60 or SNL75.

If it wasn’t for the fact that we got a teaser for a new episode of SNL on March 1, SNL50 would have felt like a finale for the show. There was no way it could feature all the major players from SNL — people like Conan O’Brien and Chevy Chase were mentioned but missing — but the overwhelming force of SNL50 easily could have served as the closing argument for Lorne Michaels. SNL is pop culture and pop culture is SNL.

• 💬 “Lorne used to project Season 50 as his retirement but now I suspect he’s gonna hold on five more years so he can retire with 50 of HIS seasons under his belt,” screenwriter Adam Mallinger speculated on Bluesky. (Adam Mallinger)

COLD OPEN

Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter: Homeward Bound

I didn’t expect SNL50 to kick off with a topical cold open, but I thought there was a chance we could’ve gotten something featuring the presidents of SNL past. Chase as Gerald Ford, Carvey as George H.W. Bush, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama, multiple cast members as Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Instead, SNL50 went with Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter performing the song “Homeward Bound.”

THE MONOLOGUE

It wouldn’t be SNL if there wasn’t a monologue. (Even if it is “traditionally the weakest part of the show.”) For SNL50, the show turned to Steve Martin.