Iconic American comedy show Saturday Night Live turns 50 this year, kicking off the celebrations is a four part documentary.
Itās no exaggeration to say that Saturday Night Live is responsible for launching the careers of a huge amount of American comedy talent, from the early days with Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Bill Murray, through eras with the much missed Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and many, many more.
This month sees the release of Saturday Night in the UK, following its release in the US last year. Itās a new film from Jason Reitman, who co-wrote the script with Gil Keenan, and it dramatizes the chaotic, stressful ninety minutes leading up to the very first show in 1975. It stars Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner and Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, alongside Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J.K. Simmons.
According to Chortle, a four part documentary called SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night will be broadcast this month.
The first episode will examine the origins of the show, the second visits the writers room and follows the development of a sketch from conception to the screen. The third takes an in depth look at the iconic More Cowbell sketch, which saw Christopher Walken encourage Will Ferrell to bring an instrument to the forefront of Blue Oyster Cult, and the fourth will take a look at the 11th season, a pivotal year that cemented the showās future.
Saturday Night will be in UK cinemas from the 31st January. SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night will stream on Peacock from the 16th January. You can watch Saturday Night Live on Sky Comedy.
Watch the trailer below: