Saturday Night Live

October 11, 1975 – present

Saturday Night Live (often abbreviated to SNL) is an American late-night live television sketch comedy, political satire, and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves as the program's showrunner. The show premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show.

In 1980 Michaels left the series to explore other opportunities. He was replaced by Jean Doumanian, who was then replaced by Ebersol after a season of bad reviews. Ebersol ran the show until 1985, when Michaels returned. Since then, Michaels has held the job of showrunner. Many SNL cast members have found national stardom while appearing on the show, and achieved success in film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. Others associated with the show, such as writers, have gone on to successful careers creating, writing, and starring in television and film.

Broadcast from Studio 8H at NBC's headquarters in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, SNL has aired 945 episodes since its debut, and began its 48th season on October 1, 2022, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. The show format has been developed and recreated in several countries, meeting with different levels of success. Successful sketches have seen life outside the show as feature films, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne's World (1992). The show has been marketed in other ways, including home media releases of "best of" and whole seasons, and books and documentaries about behind-the-scenes activities of running and developing the show.

Throughout four decades on air, Saturday Night Live has received a vast number of awards, including 93 Primetime Emmy Awards, six Writers Guild of America Awards, and three Peabody Awards. In 2000 it was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. It was ranked tenth in TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" list, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME." As of 2022 the show had received over 305 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the most received by any television program. The live aspect of the show has resulted in several controversies and acts of censorship, with mistakes and intentional acts of sabotage by performers as well as guests.

Sound Effects Used

• Censor Bleep
• Elektra Records, Happy Baby
• H-B ZIP, CARTOON - SWISH AND ZING (Heard once in the "TV Funhouse: The All-New Adventures of Mr. T" intro.)
• Hollywoodedge, 357 Magnum Pistol Sho PE092801 (Heard numerous times in "The Shooting".)
• Hollywoodedge, Cartoon Boing Jews Ha PE163801 (Heard once in "Pongo".)
• Hollywoodedge, Cats Fighting Loud Sc PE917007/Hollywoodedge, Cats Two Angry YowlsD PE022601
• Hollywoodedge, Large Splash Or DiveW PE127501 (Heard often in "Polar Bear Cage".)
• Hollywoodedge, Wolf Howl Single Echo AT028701 (Heard once in "The Curse of Frankenstein".)
• Rudolph's Nose Glow (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: The Narrator That Ruined Christmas".)
• Sound Ideas, ANIMAL, CHICKEN - ROOSTER CALLS, BIRD
• Sound Ideas, BEAR - GROWL, ANIMAL 01 (Heard in "Polar Bear Cage".)
• Sound Ideas, BEAR - ROAR, ANIMAL 02 (Heard often in a high pitch in "Polar Bear Cage".)
• Sound Ideas, BEAR - ROAR, ANIMAL 03 (Heard often in a high pitch in "Polar Bear Cage".)
• Sound Ideas, BIRD, OWL - SINGLE OWL HOOTING, ANIMAL
• Sound Ideas, BIRD, ROOSTER - MORNING CALL, ANIMAL 01
• Sound Ideas, CARTOON, BELL - SMALL CHIMES, IDEA, ACCENT (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: Walt Disney's Titey".)
• Sound Ideas, CARTOON, BIRD - SQUAWKING, ANIMAL, CROW (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: Walt Disney's Titey".)
• Sound Ideas, CARTOON, BOING - JEW'S HARP BOING, LONG 01
• Sound Ideas, CARTOON, CRY - BABY CRYING 01 (Used once for the baby potato when it cries in "TV Funhouse: Religetables".)
• Sound Ideas, CARTOON, WHISTLE - TRAIN WHISTLE, HIGH (Heard quadrice in "Jingleheimer Junction".)
• Sound Ideas, CAT - DOMESTIC: SINGLE MEOW, ANIMAL 01 (Heard once in "PAW Patrol".)
• Sound Ideas, Electronic - Screams (Used once for the screamer in "I Didn't Ask for This".)
• Sound Ideas, FANTASY - TONAL SPARKLE GLISS 03
• Sound Ideas, HIT, CARTOON - HOLLOW METALLIC HEAD KONK 01 (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: The Narrator That Ruined Christmas".)
• Sound Ideas, HIT, CARTOON - KABONG (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: The Narrator That Ruined Christmas".)
• Sound Ideas, HUMAN, BABY - CRYING (2nd, 3rd and 4th halves heard once in the "Well Babies Tragedy" sketch in "S23E08".)
• Sound Ideas, HUMAN, BABY - CRYING, WHINING (Heard once in the "Well Babies Tragedy" sketch in "S23E08".)
• Sound Ideas, SLIDE, CARTOON - SHORT SPLING
• Sound Ideas, SPLAT, CARTOON - PAINT FIGHT GLOP 05 (Heard once in "TV Funhouse: The Narrator That Ruined Christmas".)
• Sound Ideas, TOY - SQUEEZE TOY, SQUEAKING 01 (Heard in "Pongo".)
• Sound Ideas, XYLOPHONE - COMEDY ACCENT: UP SLIDE, MUSIC, PERCUSSION 01 (Heard once in "Pongo".)
• Valentino Bear (Attacking) (Heard often in a high pitch in "Polar Bear Cage".)
• Wilhelm Scream

Image Gallery

Saturday Night Live/Image Gallery