Comedy’s biggest celebrities piled into Studio 8H to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live (SNL) on February 16. This star-studded night full of callbacks, reunions, musical guests and more showed just how powerful SNL has been for decades.

Music has always been a huge aspect of the show, with over 600 musical guests appearing since 1975. The show opened with folk legend Paul Simon and current pop star Sabrina Carpenter singing “Homeward Bound.” Simon last sang this song on SNL accompanied by the late George Harrison in 1976. Carpenter made a quick-witted joke about how neither she nor her parents were alive in 1975, causing boisterous laughter. 

Adam Sandler performed a Bob Dylan-esque song titled “50 Years.” During his five-year run as a cast member, Sandler became most famous for his satire songs. He made the audience laugh with lyrics like, “50 years of cast members saying  ‘I think our cast is the greatest of all time’” and even cry with mentions of late actor Chris Farley and others. This song was a great callback and heartfelt tribute to Sandler and SNL’s legacy.

Paul McCartney closed out the show by playing a mashup of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.” Despite being 82, McCartney delivered an upbeat and emotional performance. From the rainbow piano to the electric guitar solo, this performance was perfect. McCartney never disappoints.

The SNL “Domingo” sketch, which premiered in October of 2024, famously starring Chloe Fineman and Marcello Hernandez, wasn’t funny the first time…or the second time. So, of course they went for a third time. The only salvageable portion of this skit was the incorporation of Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny. They saved it and made it an enjoyable watch, though still not funny. SNL needs to stick to avoiding repeat sketches (disregarding great callbacks) in the future.

“Weekend Update” is the oldest repeating sketch on SNL, beginning on the first-ever episode in October of 1975. The current hosts, Michael Che and Colin Jost, started the special before swapping out Che for Seth Meyers, who was the host for eight years. He had quick conversations with classic characters such as Cecily Strong as “Girl At A Party You Don’t Want To Start A Conversation With” and Bobby Moynihan as “Drunk Uncle,” one of my childhood favorites. To close off, Jost brings out Bill Murray, as himself, to rank the top 10 “Weekend Update” Hosts. His ranking was hilarious, and clearly off the dome. If you’re a dedicated fan of SNL, you’ll probably notice the absence of well-missed eclectic character Stefan, played by Bill Hader, who first appeared in 2008 and has since been on various segments. “Weekend Update” is always a good classic and the way they approached it on this anniversary was perfect.

Another very notable sketch was that of John Mulaney. Starting as a small writer on the show in 2008, Mulaney has skyrocketed in the comedy scene. He has had a recurring motif of Broadway musical parodies that talk about the societal and political aspects of New York City. This skit was probably the most grand of them. We see Mulaney as a hot dog vendor guiding us through NYC decades from the 1980s to the 2000s. We hear musicals such as “The Lion King,” “Les Miserables” and “Hamilton,” with an appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. This segment had everything from Adam Driver as a hot dog, Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani and Maya Rudolph as heroin. 

For over 50 years, SNL has given rage bait to the boomers, laughs for the politically informed and fuel for young aspiring comedians to keep going. So many years and so many memories, and they knew how to perfectly encapsulate it into a one-night live show. To the past 50 years of SNL and to 50 more.