Last night saw the grand finale of a weekend crammed with celebrations of Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary. Indeed, SNL50 packed a punch, with back-to-back live performances, skits, and tributes by former cast members, hosts, pop stars, and cultural legends in allegiance to Lorne Michaels’s cultural behemoth of a sketch show. From Sabrina Carpenter to Pizza Rat, Adam Driver as a hot dog, Pete Davidson as the iconic Chad, and “cocaine and some vodka” to the tune of “Hakuna Matata,” we really got it all.
Many, many SNL alumni from across its five decades were present for the occasion, including Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Leslie Jones, Andy Samberg, Rachel Dratch, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Laraine Newman, Kate McKinnon, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, and Will Forte—to say nothing of the current SNL 50 cast. Billy Crystal also came along—even though he was cut before the first episode even aired—as well as the show’s youngest-ever host, Drew Barrymore (she was just seven at the time). The audience, too, was star-studded and up for participating: from Bad Bunny to Pedro Pascal, Kim Kardashian, and Ryan Reynolds.
Below, we recap some of the best, brightest, and silliest moments of Saturday Night Live’s anniversary extravaganza.
