The hit New York-based television show, Saturday Night Live, has just celebrated its 50th anniversary. SNL has been home to many big Hollywood comedians and actors, such as Andy Samberg, Kirsten Wigg, Amy Poehler, and Will Ferrell. Saturday Night Live first aired on October 11th, 1975, marking this year the 50th year of the comedy show, which sparked a celebration.
The Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary, titled SNL 50, was a special episode that went on for 3 hours straight, performed live in front of a variety of famous celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, Adam Driver, Martin Short, Scarlett Johansson, Kim Kardashian, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds.
Top Moments
Hit skits have come back for more returns, such as Debbie Downer, played by Rachel Dratch. This skit is about a woman who ruins the mood in any place she is present, due to her negative views and attitude towards the world. Another skit that resurfaced was the Scared Straight skit. This skit is about prisoners, played by Keenan Thompson, and sometimes other celebrities, like Betty White or Taylor Swift. The prisoner’s job is to scare delinquents to act right, but it never goes as planned. One other skit to return is the Bronx Beat skit, centered around 2 best friends from the Bronx, played by Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler, who have their own talk show and bring in special guests on their show for comedic intent. These skits have been one of the most popular that SNL has ever produced. They are fan favorites and were highly due for a reboot.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds brought their current personal troubles to the anniversary show, and it left quite a bit of turmoil. Lively and Reynolds have been in the hot seat as of late due to them being in legal trouble with a fellow actor, Justin Baldoni, after the hit movie It Ends With Us. This lawsuit has been all over social media, causing people to reevaluate how they feel about these celebrities. Attention was brought to the 50th anniversary show, once the drama was called out by Ryan Reynolds on the audience. Amy Poehler, a very famous SNL cast member, called out to the couple in the audience, stating, “Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?” Reynolds reported back, “Why? What have you heard?” This conversation between them brought attention to the pressing legal issues they were facing, as it was not expected at the Saturday Night Live anniversary show.
Musical Guests
Saturday Night Live always has musical performances, two in between each episode, done by one guest or even a band. For this very special episode, they had a large variety of guests like Paul McCartney, Miley Cirus, The Roots, Paul Simmon, Lil Wayne, Sabrina Carpenter, and Brittany Howard. Music has always been a hit on SNL, and these artists did not disappoint.
Saturday Night Live has brought joy, laughter, and even controversy to audiences’ televisions for officially 50 years now, and Saturday Night Live plans to continue, even after hitting such a large milestone. Famous stars were shaped due to the hit show, and more will come as long as Saturday Night Live continues.
Photo courtesy of moviefone.com and sheknows.com