SNL, or Saturday Night Live, just hit 50 years old so let’s look at where it all started in 1975 on October 11th.
SNL has had many cast members and many different stars and guests over the years starting off with the original cast of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. This cast was joined by multiple famous hosts who were mostly stars from the time, starting with George Carlin, a famous comedian.
There have been many members and hosts since 1975 and since then 24 people have been banned from the show including original cast member Chevy Chase, who you might know from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies or Three Amigos with Steve Martin and Martin Short.
For most SNL was just another talk show, but for many actors and celebrities to be on SNL is a goal and a sign that you have “made it” as a celebrity.
SNL was originally named Saturday Night where in 1976 NBC bought the rights to Saturday Night Live. SNL is a very unique talk show because its compiled of comedy, music, short stories, and skits, which is what separated it from the other talk shows. Even after 50 years, SNL is still a popular show.
SNL has had many recurring skits, but one that has persisted since launch is Weekend Update. On this, the “news” anchors take current news and turn it into humorous takes.
But let’s look at how SNL has changed. In the beginning, SNL was a talk show that had comedy, short films and music, but it hasn’t changed much while still having all of these parts. The style has changed in the sense that the comedy has changed because people don’t find the old comedy funny anymore.
SNL has been getting lower and lower views as time passes due to less people watching TV and even less watching talk shows. Also SNL hasn’t been the same because back when it started the cast members weren’t very popular, while now every member is very popular and I think that It has changed the show completely.
Do you think it will last another 50 years? I believe that SNL won’t because every season people think is the last and because of less and less people watching talk shows I think that SNL wont make it another 20 years let alone another 50.
