The True Story of Saturday Night Live and What Happened on the First Episode of SNL Explained

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Saturday night.

Saturday night Tells the true story of what happened on the first episode of Saturday Night LiveProviding a re-enactment of the beginning of the long-running series. NBC launched the first season of NBC’s Saturday night In 1975 After Dick Ebersol hired Lorne Michaels to create a new piece of late-night programming. The importance and legacy of the sketch comedy show grew in the decades that followed, and it became a place where many famous comedians, such as Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, and Adam Sandler, became breakout stars.

while multiplying Saturday Night Live Skits became movies over the years, it took until 2024 for a movie to be made specifically about the show itself. Directed by: Jason Reitman Saturday night Tackles the true story of the show’s inceptionBring in a cast of young, rising stars to play some of SNLThe most important cast members, creators and more. The movie is about the 90 minutes leading up to the debut of Saturday Night Lives first episode, making the film responsible for telling the true story and events as accurately as possible. Saturday night Features an outstanding ensemble cast including JK Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, Nicholas Braun, Dylan O’Brien, Rachel, Sennott and Gabriel LaBelle.

Saturday Night Live is based on the true story of the first episode of SNL

The debut came on October 11, 1975

The true story that Saturday night revolves around the events that happened on October 11, 1975. This is the night that the first episode of the show became known as Saturday Night Live Aired on NBC. At the time, it was known as NBC’s Saturday night Because ABC already had Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell on the air. NBC’s need for Saturday Night Live came from Johnny Carson’s request not to do live shows on some weekend nights and the company was no more than exploring reruns of earlier episodes of The Tonight Show in those slots.

The original purpose for NBC’s Saturday night was to be a 90-minute variety show for late-night audiences, and Lorne Michaels worked on its development in the mid-1970s. The show was finally ready to go in 1975 after assembling a cast of young comedians, who became known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, and a talented cast of writers. Although Saturday Night Live Evolved to become a full sketch show with one celebrity host participating in the sketches and a musical guest, the show was originally more divided between the host’s abilities, sketches and musical performances.

Who was part of the first episode of SNL in 1975

The first cast members and guests

The first episode of Saturday Night Live Including the core cast members who would mostly be around for the entire first season or beyond. The Not Ready for Prime Time players included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, George Coe and Michael O’Donoghue. Coe did not return after the first episode. There were also a number of uncredited cameos By Richard Belzer, Tom Davis, Audrey Peart Dickman, Al Franken, Neil Levy, Don Pardo, Tom Schiller, Paul Simon, Akira Yoshimura, Alan Zweibel, Jacqueline Carlin, Wendell Craig, and Clifford Einstein.

There were also several other people involved in it Saturday nights first episode that are not part of the main Saturday night cast members. Comedian George Carlin was the host, while Billy Preston and Janice Ian were the musical guests. Comedians Valerie Bromfield and Andy Kaufman also appeared to do solo sketches and routines. Billy Crystal was originally scheduled to have a set As well, but his was cut from the live show.

Which sketches were performed on the first episode of SNL

An iconic sketch began

Saturday nightThe first episode was very different from what the show became, as the sketch comedy was split by different comedic and musical performances. There were still some typical sketches. O’Donaghue and Belushi opened the door The Wolverines. Sketches known as New father, Process, Victims of shark bites, Jamitol, Triopenin, B. Hospital, Academy of Better Careers, Home SecuritiesAnd Triple Track are all included. Jim Henson and The Muppets even contributed By doing The land of Gorch. Pre-recorded sketches with Albert Brooks and One Called Show us your guns were also brought up.

The most notable of the sketches included in the first episode of NBC’s Saturday night is the first edition of Weekend update. Chevy Chase and Herb Sargent are responsible for creating it. Chevy Chase was the one Weekend update anchor for the entire first season and a bit in season 2. The segment became a staple of the show, appearing in every episode of Saturday Night Live Since then.

Did NBC want Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live to go away?

The movie suggests so

One point point in Saturday night Is the suggestion that NBC wanted Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live to quit. Although the movie chronicles the true story of SNLthe sources, There is no evidence to suggest that the studio wanted Lorne Michaels’ show to be anything other than a success. NBC needed Saturday Night Live to fill a large hole in his programming schedule following Johnny Carson’s request.

While giving a relatively unproven producer and cast of unknowns the responsibility of replacing a time slot occupied by Carson is certainly a risk, the suggestion that NBC is secretly rooting against the show’s success is purely for narrative purposes. It gives Lorne Michaels and all the success of Saturday Night Live A bit more of an underdog success story feeling. That said, NBC probably had some doubts about the show’s long-term viability and didn’t think it would run for half a century and air a movie like Saturday night.

How accurate Saturday night is to the true story

The film takes a lot of creative liberties with the true story

While Saturday night Captures an authentic sense of the chaotic energy leading up to the premiere of the first episode of Saturday Night LiveThe film does change some true story details and even creates entirely new scenes that never happened. Scenes such as John Belushi skating at Rockefeller Center twenty minutes before the first SNL episode Went live in Saturday nightThe ending, Milton Berle flashing Chevy Chase after hitting his fiancée Jacqueline Carlin, Johnny Carson’s intimidating phone call to Lorne Michaels, and host George Carlin getting locked up from doing too much cocaine never actually happened.

There were also some true and somewhat accurate moments in it Saturday night whose timing and emphasis were altered in order to fit the film. Chevy Chase was in a fight backstage with Bill Murray, not John BelushiDuring season 3 of SNLAlthough Belushi said he initiated the confrontation. Lorne Michaels considered the Weekend Update segment at one point in the show’s development, but it was established beforehand that Chase would anchor the classic sketch. The set designers are laying bricks on the set hours, not minutes before the first one Saturday night Premiere. Michaels did hire writer Alan Zweibel after meeting him in a bar, but not on the night of the Saturday night Premiere covered in prop blood.