SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night First Look Revealed by Peacock
Peacock has released a first look at SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, a new documentary series that offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the American late-night comedy institution’s most iconic elements and rich history.
Executive produced by Academy and Emmy Award winner Morgan Neville, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night streams exclusively on Peacock beginning January 16.
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is a four-part docuseries honoring the legacy of SNL, with over 60 contributors, including SNL alumni, and covering decades of SNL history. Spotlighting some of the show’s most iconic elements, each episode delves into the rich history of SNL and pulls back the curtain on the audition process, the writers’ room, the fan favorite “More Cowbell” sketch and the pivotal Season 11.
Each episode of the docuseries takes a different creative approach to the tapestry of Saturday Night Live and embraces the unique vision of their award-winning directors: Emmy Award winner Robert Alexander (Ep 101), Academy Award winner Marshall Curry (Ep 102), Emmy nominee Neil Berkeley (Ep 103) and Emmy nominee Jason Zeldes (Ep 104).
With never-before-seen footage across five decades of SNL history, the docuseries features insights from more than 60 contributors. More information on each episode follows below.
Episode 101 (“Five Minutes”) features Ayala Cohen, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Beck Bennett, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Bowen Yang, Cheri Oteri, David Spade, Ego Nwodim, Fred Armisen, Heidi Gardner, Jason Sudeikis and Jay Pharaoh.
The episode also includes Jeff Blake, Joe Piscopo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kenan Thompson, Kyle Mooney, Lindsay Shookus, Marci Klein, Mike Shoemaker, Molly Shannon, Nasim Pedrad, Pete Davidson, Stephen Colbert and Tracy Morgan.
Episode 102 (“Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room”) features Alan Zweibel, Alex English, Al Franken, Andrew Dismukes, Asha Ward, Ben Marshall, Bob Odenkirk, Bryan Tucker, Ceara O’Sullivan, Celeste Yim, Emily Spivey, Harper Steele, Jim Downey and Jimmy Fowlie.
Also featured are John Higgins, John Mulaney, Larry David, Louie Zakarian, Marilyn Miller, Martin Herlihy, Paula Pell, Robert Smigel, Sarah Silverman, Seth Meyers, Simon Rich, Steve Higgins, Streeter Seidell, Tina Fey and Will Stephen.
Episode 103 (“More Cowbell”) includes Akira Yoshimura, Albert Bouchard, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Bruce Dickinson, Buck Dharma, Cara Hannah, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell, Dana Carvey, Dave Grohl, Dave Itzkoff, and Darrell Hammond.
Also featured in the episode are Eamon Cunningham, Eric Bloom, Fred Armisen, Jimmy Fallon, Jodi Mancuso, John Karpi, Josh Homme, Keith Raywood, Larry Demler, Louie Zakarian, Murray Krugman, Rachel Dratch, Tom Broecker, Will Ferrell and David Lucas.
Episode 104 (“Season 11: The Weird Year”) features A. Whitney Brown, Al Franken, Andy Breckman, Anthony Michael Hall, Billy Crystal, Carol Leifer, Damon Wayans, George Meyer, George Wendt, Griffin Dunne, James Andrew Miller, Jim Downey, John Lithgow, and Jon Lovitz.
The episode also includes Kevin Nealon, Laila Nabulsi, Mark McKinney, Nora Dunn, Penn & Teller, Robert Smigel, Terry Sweeney and Tom Hanks. Additional archival interviews include Bernie Brillstein, Lorne Michaels, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Davis.
“I’ve been obsessed with Saturday Night Live as long as I can remember,” said executive producer Morgan Neville. “For SNL50, I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite independent filmmakers to tell some deeper stories of SNL. Taken together, these standalone episodes give a new perspective of SNL and what makes it work.”
In addition to SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music will premiere on January 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock as part of the collection of original programming celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Live will also mark its 50th anniversary with a celebratory weekend, culminating in a live primetime special on Sunday, February 16 on NBC and Peacock. Every season of SNL is also now available to stream, exclusively on Peacock. New SNL episodes stream live on Peacock, in addition to the broadcast on NBC (11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT).
