Then:
By the mid 1970s conventional television was not as light-hearted as we know it to be today. The unity movement of the sixties was long gone and the Vietnam War added it’s own depressing tone to many films and television shows. Conventional forms of television were dark and bland in terms of content. It wasn’t until 1975 when NBC’s Saturday Night, as it was originally titled, premiered and brought a new light-hearted attitude to television. Audiences had something different, a fresh way to have fun while watching television again. Television entertainment was transformed by Lorne Michaels and his cast of comical characters. Saturday Night Live revolutionized comedy television, although the concept of a sketch comedy program was nothing new, shows like Hee Haw and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In did it way before Lorne Michaels entered the scene, but SNL was different. Michael’s idea to have a new celebrity host and musical artist every week was new and invigorating, it served as a pull factor for audiences to continue watching week after week in order to see their favorite movie star or musical artist perform at studio 8H. SNL appealed to pop culture from the start, many of its original skits were so popular they were converted into feature films including the 1980 film The Blues Brothers starring cast members John Belushi and Dan Akroyd and Wayne’s World featuring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. The show’s ability to turn regular sketch comedians into huge film star allowed it to contribute to the film scene as well. Eddie Murphy quickly became the show’s most successful alumni after the release of his 1982 film, Beverly Hills Cop. Many of the show’s older cast members have since become large-scale stars on the silver screen as well as the TV screen, some of which include Chevy Chase, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Will Ferell.
Now:
Today, SNL has withstood the test of time as it has been forced to compete with newer forms of television viewing such as streaming sites. Yet it still remains popular sticking with NBC and it’s infamous airtime of 11:30 on Saturday nights, and yes it is available on various streaming services as well for on demand viewing. While the show has had to conform to new cultural, political and social trends, the structure of the production has remained fairly the same. Each week brings a new celebrity host, allowing that specific public figure to introduce their own pop culture references into the show. For example, in 2016 actor Adam Driver hosted Saturday Night Live as a promotion opportunity for a little movie called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. During that episode, the show included a sketch based around Driver’s character in Star Wars, already a cultural phenomenon in itself, and combined it with the concept of a popular reality television show, Undercover Boss. Saturday Night Live’s ability to combine and conform to all forms of pop culture is one of the many reasons why it is still relevant today. This is true with the music scene as well as the show has seemed to keep up with the recent trends on the pop charts when scheduling their musical guests. Billie Eilish’s exhilarating performance on the show just last weekend had people on social media as well as many news outlets buzzing. Aside from pop culture, today more than ever before Saturday Night Live has been increasing it’s appeal to political culture. Since the 2016 presidential election, SNL has played heavily towards the political side of things as it’s what most people have been concerned with. While many younger audiences find the political skits boring and confusing, older politically engaged crowds have enjoyed how the show pokes humor at today’s political drama.
Later:
Last week marked the beginning of Saturday Night Live’s 45th season, it’s considered a stunning accomplishment for a television show to have this long of a run. However, many are beginning to ask the question “Will Saturday Night Live ever end?” As heartbroken as many of us would be to see the show come to an end, nothing lasts forever. Thankfully, for the time being, the show has displayed no signs of stopping. In a recent interview with Vulture.com, SNL cast member Kenan Thompson proclaimed that his “…forever plan,” is to never have to leave the show. Thompson, who has just begun his 17th season on Saturday Night Live, is a pop culture oddity and the longest returning member of any sketch comedy show where cast members are usually molded into fame as success and move on to greater opportunities. Despite the fact that Thompson is set to star in his own NBC comedy show premiering in 2020, he refuses to leave SNL. While Saturday Night Live has had such a long run time, some believe that their mission towards diversity is not quite over yet. Saturday Night Live’s extreme lack of black female performers was forgotten in 2013 when the show hired Sasheer Zamata and Leslie Jones. The show’s most popular LGBT cast member Kate McKinnon, who’s inaugural season was season 38, just became the show’s longest running female cast member. While all of this seems extremely progressive, many cast members, including Kenan Thompson would love to see it go even farther. Besides diversity, the show has a long history of portraying and engaging in popular culture, seeing it go would put an end to an American television legend as well as a history of pure entertainment.
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