With fifty years on the air, Fionn Dixon asks, how many stars has Saturday Night Live created?
It was October 11th, 1975 in the Rockefeller Center when Saturday nights in New York City changed forever. Saturday Night Live began on NBC. The sketch-comedy show, created by the now legendary Lorne Michaels, has been a pillar of star creation since its inception, both on and off camera. Being a variety show with an ensemble cast, the stars' talents are allowed to shine.
The original cast included stars such as Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, emerging voices in the 1970s comedy scene, who played the iconic ‘Blues Brothers’ characters. The characters were a hit, even leading to the first feature film based on an SNL sketch, 1980’s ‘The Blues Brothers’. The two were electric in their roles, with the movie being wacky and unpredictable. Unfortunately, Belushi passed away in 1982, while Aykroyd went on to establish himself further in the film industry with hits such as 1984’s ‘Ghostbusters’.
As time went on, the cast and writers of the show continued to change. Michaels left the show in 1980, with nearly all of the cast and writers being fired and replaced by a new lineup brought in by new executive producer Dick Ebersol. Despite the 1980-1981 season being widely regarded as the worst in its history, there was one saving grace - Eddie Murphy. A prominent cast member in this period, Murphy played creatively funny and unique characters and even hosted the Weekend Update for a brief spell. It was a dark time for the show, yet Murphy was the shining star throughout his time on SNL, before his departure in 1984. Murphy was launched into fame and success, where he remains today.
Michaels reclaimed his position in 1985, and continues to this day, with him being around for what many consider to be SNL’s Golden Era in the 1990s. Will Ferrell, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, and Adam Sandler are just some of the heavy hitters from that period. Sandler has had one of the biggest careers of any SNL alum, becoming one of the biggest comedy stars on the planet.
Two of the biggest stars from SNL in the early 90s were not actually cast members, rather writers. Bob Odenkirk and Conan O’Brien wrote for the show during this time and both achieved fruitful careers. Odenkirk largely left writing to focus on acting, and not just in the comedy scene. His most prominent role was as Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on two of the biggest shows of this century, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’. O’Brien left in 1991 to work as a writer and producer for arguably the biggest animated show of all time, ‘The Simpsons’, before becoming a talk show host for several hit shows between 1993 and 2021.
Tina Fey joined Saturday Night Live in the late 90s, becoming head writer, the first woman to hold this position, for much of the 2000s. She was an enigmatic powerhouse for SNL at this time, and many fans see her departure as the beginning of the end. Many other stars came at this time, such as Andy Samberg and John Mulaney, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph.
Since 2010, SNL has faced criticism from fans and critics alike, most prominently for getting too political. The show soared with viral hits throughout the recent American Presidential elections, with Kate McKinnon, Alec Baldwin, Jim Carey and Maya Rudolph taking centre stage. Despite those names no longer being involved, and criticism still being thrown towards 8H, the show still boasts an impressive roster.
Colin Jost and Michael Che have been presenting Weekend Update for over a decade now, and excel each week. Newer stars like Bowen Yang and Marcello Hernández appear to have promising futures ahead of them. Kenan Thompson still takes a leading role each Saturday night. After fifty years, SNL is still in good hands under Lorne Michaels. Eventually new stars will replace the ones we see on air now, propelling evermore young talents into fame and stardom for the world to witness. All we have to do is tune in on Saturday nights.