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See SNL’s Most Star-Studded Sketch Ever: Tom Hanks, Tina Fey & More Five-Timers Club Stars
Saturday Night Live's biggest stars are taking a walk down memory lane.
Peacock has released the first trailer for SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, a new documentary celebrating the long-running NBC sketch comedy series' milestone 50th anniversary.
The four-part special will feature insights and interviews from over 60 contributors and past castmembers, including icons like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, Seth Meyers, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Andy Samberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang and Fred Armisen, among many more. Each episode will take a "different creative approach to the tapestry of SNL" while celebrating some of the most iconic sketches in the show's history, according to the streamer.
“Anybody can do comedy," Morgan notes in the preview, released Jan. 7. "I could teach all of y’all in here to tell jokes and do comedy, but are you funny?"
Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon reflects on his iconic cowbell skit with 2000 host Christopher Walken. As the Tonight Show host gushes, “This is beyond my wildest dreams that they’re making a documentary about the cowbell sketch."
In addition to former stars, the doc will also feature never-before-told stories from past writers and other crew members in addition to former guests, like Tom Hanks.
Plus, stars like Poehler, Samberg and Pete Davidson look back at their cringy audition tapes.
"It was terrifying," Davidson recalls of trying out, while Samberg notes, "My first audition I threw up."
Meanwhile, Thompson—the longest running castmember in SNL history—adds with a laugh, "It's a miracle that I'm sitting here right now.
But despite the many laughs on stage, the stress behind the scenes had a tendency to boil over amid last-minute sketch changes, competition among the cast and harsh deadlines.
Bruce Glikas/WireImage/Peacock/Neil Mockford
Get a peek of the untold stories in the trailer above.
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night premieres Jan. 16 on Peacock. And keep reading to look back at some of the show's most iconic—and unexpected—celeb hosts.
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Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show's first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America's Dad is in Studio 8H, you're in for a wonderful time. Don't believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
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Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He's has sinced follow up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable "Jon Hamm's John Ham" sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he's ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
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Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The "Taste Test" sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she's already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
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Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could've become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From "Omletteville," "D--k in a Box," and "Barry Gibb Talk Show" to "Mother Lover," each of Timberlake's five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
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Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there's only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the "wild and crazy" Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show's most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner's passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
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Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She's been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump's shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen's Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
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Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list, the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show's oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White's role in The Proposal.
She's also on this list because, well, she was also freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey's census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
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Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer's Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
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Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family)
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