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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe SNL 50th anniversary special’s best moments were the Weekend Update reunion, Eddie Murphy’s Black Jeopardy return, Adam Sandler’s emotional anniversary song, and the Pete Davidson–John Mulaney New York musical; its weakest were overextended revivals such as Lawrence Welk, alien abduction, and Scared Straight.
SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired live on NBC and Peacock on Sunday, February 16, 2025. The three-hour broadcast celebrated five decades of recurring characters, cast chemistry, surprise appearances, musical performances, and SNL history—but it also revealed how quickly nostalgia can become repetitive when a familiar sketch is not given a fresh premise.
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Key takeaways
- SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired Sunday, February 16, 2025, as a three-hour NBC and Peacock primetime broadcast—not as a regular Saturday episode.
- The strongest comedy came from fresh interactions between familiar performers, especially the Weekend Update reunion, Eddie Murphy’s return to Black Jeopardy, Adam Sandler’s anniversary song, and the Pete Davidson–John Mulaney New York musical.
- The Lawrence Welk revival, the alien-abduction sketch, and Scared Straight showed the special’s biggest weakness: recognizable material sometimes received more time than its premise could support.
- According to the Associated Press in 2025, the combined NBC and Peacock audience reached nearly 15 million viewers.
- The February 14, 2025 Homecoming Concert was a separate Radio City Music Hall event focused more directly on SNL’s musical history.
What were the best and worst moments of the SNL 50th anniversary special?
The best moments of the SNL 50th anniversary special made familiar characters feel newly alive through unexpected pairings, strong chemistry, or genuine affection. The weakest moments relied on recognition alone. The result was a huge and historically meaningful celebration with several excellent set pieces, some overextended revivals, and enough warmth to make the uneven pacing forgivable.
| Segment or feature | Verdict | Why it worked—or did not |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Martin’s opening monologue | Best | An efficient ceremonial welcome connecting SNL’s earliest era with its modern celebrity ecosystem. |
| Weekend Update reunion | Best | Returning characters interacted with current anchors and one another instead of appearing only as a roll call of cameos. |
| Black Jeopardy with Eddie Murphy | Best | The old format gained a fresh layer from Murphy’s character, Tracy Morgan’s presence, and their shared comic history. |
| Adam Sandler’s anniversary song | Best | A sincere, affectionate emotional center that valued memory and people over punch-line density. |
| Pete Davidson–John Mulaney New York musical | Best | A current, theatrical piece that used New York as both setting and comic subject. |
| Lawrence Welk revival | Weakest | The Dooneese callback was recognizable but felt too dependent on recreating an earlier success. |
| Alien-abduction sketch | Mixed | Kate McKinnon’s Colleen Rafferty remained committed and funny, but the premise felt stretched; Meryl Streep’s appearance provided a late lift. |
| Scared Straight | Mixed to weak | Good moments were diluted by length and by a broader pacing problem across the special. |
Why did the Weekend Update reunion work so well?
The Weekend Update reunion worked because the returning performers had a structure and relationships to play, rather than simply standing together to signal SNL history. Bobby Moynihan returned as Drunk Uncle, Cecily Strong reprised The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party, Seth Meyers participated, and Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer appeared in a Lorne-related bit. Bill Murray added a deadpan ranking of Update anchors.
The segment’s comic value came from collision: old characters met current anchors, former cast members reacted to one another, and the audience’s memory became part of the joke. Contemporary coverage from Peacock’s official SNL50 recap, LateNighter’s review, and TIME’s assessment all identified the reunion as one of the special’s most effective sections.
How did Eddie Murphy’s Black Jeopardy return add something new?
Eddie Murphy’s Black Jeopardy return worked because the sketch revived a known format while creating a new comic relationship. Murphy played a character modeled on Tracy Morgan, while Morgan was also present in the sketch, turning the performers’ real history and recognizable personas into part of the premise.
The segment was more than a familiar title returning for an anniversary. The surprise came from seeing Murphy inhabit a character associated with Morgan while Morgan participated in the same comic world. That extra layer is why contemporary reviews treated Black Jeopardy as one of the funniest early moments of the broadcast.
Why was Adam Sandler’s anniversary song so important?
Adam Sandler’s anniversary song was the emotional center of the broadcast because its purpose was sincerity rather than relentless joke density. The song acknowledged the people, memories, and creative history connected with five decades of SNL.
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Calling the song the “objective best” would overstate a subjective ranking, but describing it as affectionate and affecting is fair. Both TIME’s review of the anniversary special and other contemporary criticism treated the performance as one of the night’s most memorable emotional moments.
Rank #2
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What made the Pete Davidson and John Mulaney New York musical a highlight?
The Pete Davidson–John Mulaney New York musical stood out because it was an original-feeling theatrical set piece rather than a straightforward resurrection of an old sketch. The number used New York as both its setting and its subject, allowing the anniversary show to make a current comic statement instead of merely pointing backward.
Musical comedy became one of the evening’s most reliable sources of energy. TIME’s review of the special’s musical comedy likewise identified this mode as a major strength.
Which musical performances were the strongest?
The broadcast opened with Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter performing “Homeward Bound.” The music lineup also included major appearances involving Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Brittany Howard, Lil Wayne, and The Roots. McCartney’s closing performance gave the show an epic finale, according to the AP’s report on the nearly 15-million-viewer audience.
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Why did some SNL50 sketches feel weak or overextended?
Some SNL50 sketches felt weak because the special sometimes treated familiarity as a substitute for a new premise. A three-hour reunion show has a different challenge from a normal weekly episode: every returning character arrives with built-in audience goodwill, but built-in recognition does not automatically create a second comic engine.
Lawrence Welk and Dooneese
The Lawrence Welk segment brought back Kristen Wiig’s Dooneese with a large celebrity cast, big wigs, and the character’s familiar tiny hands. The callback understood the anniversary assignment, but LateNighter argued that repeated attempts to recreate the earlier success had made the bit feel stale. The issue was diminishing returns, not the original character’s importance in SNL history.
The segment demonstrated the central risk of anniversary television: a classic sketch can become self-justifying. A recognizable revival still needs a new situation, escalation, or relationship to earn its running time.
The alien-abduction sketch
The alien-abduction sketch was a mixed case. Kate McKinnon’s Colleen Rafferty remained a forceful, highly physical character, and the segment included Pedro Pascal, Woody Harrelson, Jon Hamm, and Meryl Streep. TIME described Streep’s appearance as a rescue for an overlong sketch, while other criticism still found McKinnon’s commitment and lines funny.
The fairest judgment is that the sketch contained a high-value performance but did not sustain its comic engine as efficiently as Black Jeopardy or Weekend Update. A memorable guest appearance could improve the ending without fixing every structural problem that came before it.
Scared Straight and cameo overload
Scared Straight produced good moments but was criticized for running long. The same pacing issue affected portions of the broader show: with so many returning characters and famous guests, some segments seemed to be waiting for the next cameo instead of building toward the strongest possible ending.
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Cameo density was therefore both the special’s selling point and a structural weakness. Viewers who wanted a living archive of SNL history received an extraordinary reunion. Viewers judging the broadcast primarily as a comedy show sometimes encountered material that felt more like an appearance checklist than a fully developed sketch.
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The most useful way to rank SNL 50th anniversary special highlights is to judge each segment on four questions: freshness, chemistry, compression, and anniversary value. This framework separates a genuinely successful revival from a sketch that is merely recognizable.
| Criterion | Question to ask | Strong example | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshness | Does the old material create a new situation? | Black Jeopardy adding Murphy and Morgan’s relationship to the premise. | A revival repeating the old setup without meaningful variation. |
| Chemistry | Do performers generate new reactions and relationships? | The Weekend Update characters interacting with current and former anchors. | Famous guests appearing without a comic relationship to the scene. |
| Compression | Does the segment reach its payoff before the premise wears out? | The concise, structured reunion material. | Alien-abduction and Scared Straight sections that feel stretched. |
| Anniversary value | Does the segment express something about SNL’s history? | Sandler’s song and historically meaningful music performances. | A reference included only because audiences remember it. |
Using those criteria produces a more defensible ranking than treating personal nostalgia as an objective score. The strongest material combined at least two of the four qualities; the weakest material generally offered recognition without enough freshness or compression.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the Homecoming Concert part of the anniversary special?
The Homecoming Concert was a separate event held at Radio City Music Hall on Friday, February 14, 2025, two days before the Sunday anniversary broadcast. The concert should not be folded into a list of February 16 sketches: the special was a reunion-heavy sketch-and-variety program, while the concert placed SNL’s musical legacy at the center.
The official Peacock Homecoming Concert recap lists performances involving artists including Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Chris Martin, David Byrne, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robyn, The B-52s, and The Roots. Reviews found the concert especially effective when music and comedy mixed, including a Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer musical-comedy reunion. Vanity Fair’s concert review and TV Insider’s highlights provide separate assessments of that event.
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- “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” Celebrate 50 years of sketch comedy with this sleek SNL design featuring the official 50th anniversary logo in white and gold embroidery.
- Officially licensed Saturday Night Live; SNL; NBC SNL; SNL 50th; Saturday Night Live; SNL 50th Anniversary; SNL merch; SNL apparel; SNL Dad hat; SNL cap; live TV; late-night comedy; pop culture; trending humor; classic characters; SNL designs
What happened at the SNL 50th anniversary special, and how can you watch it?
SNL50 aired live on NBC and streamed through Peacock on Sunday, February 16, 2025. NBCUniversal described the event as a three-hour primetime celebration featuring recurring sketches, surprise appearances, musical numbers, and callbacks across the show’s history in its official anniversary announcement.
For a current rewatch, viewers can stream SNL50 on Peacock, subject to the service’s availability, subscription requirements, and regional access at the time of viewing. Catalogs and access terms can change, so current Peacock listings should be checked before publication or watching.
According to the Associated Press in 2025, the combined NBC and Peacock audience was nearly 15 million viewers, making the broadcast NBC’s largest nighttime entertainment audience since the 2020 Golden Globes. The figure helps explain the event’s scale, but audience size does not settle the creative debate: the broadcast was culturally enormous and comedically uneven at the same time.
What can fans watch or read after SNL50?
Fans who want a physical archive rather than only the February 2025 special can consider the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Collection: Seasons One–Five DVD. Universal Pictures At Home lists the collection as a 37-disc set covering SNL’s first five seasons. The collection is a companion archive, not a DVD of the SNL50 anniversary special itself.
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Readers more interested in the show’s visual identity may prefer The Art of the SNL Portrait, an Abrams book about Mary Ellen Matthews’s SNL portrait work published on the occasion of the show’s 50th anniversary. The book is best understood as a photography and memorabilia companion, not as a recap of the broadcast; see the publisher’s description of The Art of the SNL Portrait.
For a history-focused companion, Penguin Random House lists Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live with a February 18, 2025 on-sale date. The book offers a behind-the-show historical angle rather than a segment-by-segment review of SNL50; publication details appear on the publisher’s Lorne page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the SNL 50th anniversary special air?
SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired on Sunday, February 16, 2025, on NBC and Peacock. The three-hour primetime broadcast was deliberately scheduled as a Sunday anniversary event rather than a regular Saturday episode.
What were the best sketches from SNL50?
The strongest SNL50 sketches and performances included the Weekend Update reunion, Eddie Murphy’s return to Black Jeopardy, Adam Sandler’s anniversary song, and the Pete Davidson–John Mulaney New York musical. Steve Martin’s opening monologue and several musical performances were also major highlights.
What were the worst sketches in the SNL 50th anniversary special?
The weakest or most uneven material included the Lawrence Welk revival, the overextended alien-abduction sketch, and Scared Straight. The common problem was that familiar characters or guest appearances were not always supported by a fresh enough premise or a concise ending.
Was the SNL50 Homecoming Concert the same as the anniversary special?
The Homecoming Concert was a separate SNL50 event held at Radio City Music Hall on February 14, 2025. The February 16 anniversary special centered on sketches and reunions, while the concert focused more directly on SNL’s musical legacy.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: SNL50 was at its best when nostalgia created new chemistry—especially in Weekend Update, Black Jeopardy, Sandler’s song, and the New York musical. The weaker revivals showed that recognition cannot replace reinvention or tight pacing. The special was not uniformly excellent, but its warmth and historical scale made the unevenness forgivable.
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