“Saturday Night Live” is gearing up for a star-studded 50th anniversary special on Sunday, Feb. 16.
All season long, the legendary sketch comedy show has been bringing in A-list hosts — including Jean Smart, Martin Short, Ariana Grande, Paul Mescal, John Mulaney, Dave Chappelle and more — to help celebrate the milestone.
Musical guests including Stevie Nicks, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Jelly Roll and Chappell Roan have also dropped by Studio 8H to perform live this season.
Most recently, Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet did double duty when he hosted and performed as the show’s musical guest on Jan. 25.
Here’s everything to know about this weekend’s “SNL.”
Is there a new episode of ‘SNL’ tonight?
No, there is not a new episode of “Saturday Night Live” airing Feb. 1. On Saturday, NBC will air two past episodes — but not just any episodes.
Starting at 10 p.m. ET, “SNL” will re-broadcast its season 49 finale. The fan-favorite episode featured host Jake Gyllenhaal and musical guest Sabrina Carpenter.
Gyllenhaal, hosting for the third time, got to show off his silly side by playing a maniacal version of the Scooby-Doo gang’s Fred — ascot and all — alongside Carpenter, who donned an orange wig to play Daphne. He also took time out from his monologue to belt out a rendition of Boyz II Men’s classic ballad “End of the Road” that was actually pretty good.
At 11:30 p.m. ET, keep laughing by tuning into a re-air of the Nov. 9, 2024, episode featuring comedian Bill Burr as host and musical guest Mk.gee.
When is the 50th anniversary special?
“SNL” will celebrate its history in a live three-hour anniversary special, “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” airing Sunday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC.
How else is SNL celebrating its 50th birthday?
Fans can learn the whole “SNL” history by watching the four-part docuseries, “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” streaming now on Peacock. (Peacock and TODAY.com share a parent company, NBCUniversal.)
An additional three-hour documentary focusing on the show’s musical guests over the years, “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” co-directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, also premiered this week on Peacock.
You can watch some of show’s most beloved musical guests — including Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Jelly Roll, Chris Martin and more — as they perform live at “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert.” The three-hour special, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, will stream on Peacock Feb. 14.
A re-broadcast of the first ‘SNL’ episode
The anniversary hoopla continues with “SNL” airing its debut episode on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
The episode, which originally aired Oct. 11, 1975, featured comedy legend George Carlin as its host with musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian.
The episode starred the original “Saturday Night Live” cast members — Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Chevy Chase, who did double-duty as the show’s first “Weekend Update” anchor.