Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter duetted on Simon’s “Homeward Bound” to open the show, five-decade “Saturday Night Live” luminary Steve Martin delivered the monologue, and Paul McCartney gave an epic closing to a 50th anniversary special celebrating the sketch institution that was overflowing with famous former cast members, superstar hosts, and legendary guests.
The 83-year-old Simon has been essential to “SNL” since its earliest episodes in 1975 and told the 25-year-old pop sensation of the moment Carpenter that he first performed “Homeward Bound” on “SNL” in 1976.
“I was not born then,” Carpenter said, getting a laugh. “And neither were my parents,” she added, getting a bigger laugh.
McCartney closed with the rarely performed song cycle from the Beatles’ “Abbey Road,” “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End,” with its wistful ending, “the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”
Lil Wayne and Miley Cyrus were among the night’s other musical guests, though the show’s musical legacy also had its own night with a Radio City Music Hall concert on Friday.
“SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” aired live from New York, of course, on NBC and Peacock. The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians including Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig, and Will Ferrell, who all appeared in early sketches.
The evening included epic cameos that included Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, and Keith Richards.
Steve Martin’s opening sets the tone for ‘SNL50,’ ‘Update’ keeps it rolling
Martin, one of the show's most prolific hosts and guests since the first season in 1975, tried to keep it current in the monologue even on a backward-looking night.
Martin said when the show’s creator Lorne Michaels only told him he’d be doing the monologue, “I was actually vacationing on a friend’s boat down on the Gulf of Steve Martin.”
He was joined by former “SNL” luminaries and frequent hosts Martin Short and John Mulaney, who looked at the star-studded crowd full of former hosts in the same Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza that has been the show’s longtime home.
“I see some of the most difficult people I have ever met in my entire life,” Mulaney said. “Over 50 years, 894 people have hosted ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder.”
Later, on the night’s “Weekend Update,” anchor Colin Jost said there were so many former hosts and musical guests who wanted to see the show that many had to be seated in a neighboring studio and some had to watch “from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn” as a photo of Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared.
Martin took a jab at the always-difficult-to-wrangle Bill Murray in his monologue.
“We wanted to make sure that Bill would be here tonight,” Martin said, “so we didn’t invite him.”
Murray appeared on “Weekend Update” to rank the show’s anchors since they began with Chevy Chase. He poked at the whiteness of the group by first ranking its Black anchors, a list of just one, current co-anchor Michael Che.
The extravaganza came after months of celebrations of “Saturday Night Live,” which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, with an original cast that included John Belushi, Chase and Gilda Radner.
It’s become appointment television over the years as the show has skewered presidents, politics and pop culture.
“It is a honor and a thrill to be hosting weekend update for the 50th and if it was up to our president final season of SNL,” Jost said.
The show had its typical ending, with all involved looking exhilarated and exhausted on the studio stage. This night it was so crowded with luminaries it looked like it might break. Led by Short, they all applauded in tribute to Michaels, who created the show and has run it for 45 of its 50 years.
Cameos and memorials
Alec Baldwin, the show’s most frequent host with 17 stints, appeared to introduce an evening of commercial parodies, seven months after his trial was halted and an involuntary manslaughter charge was dropped in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Aubrey Plaza made one of her first public appearances since the January death of her husband when she introduced Cyrus and Howard’s performance.
The 87-year-old Nicholson was once a constant in the front rows of the Oscars and Los Angeles Lakers games but is rarely seen out anymore. He introduced his “Anger Management” co-star Adam Sandler, who sang in his signature style about the show’s history. He gave a roll-call of cast members, giving special attention to several who have died, including his friends Chris Farley and MacDonald along with Radner, Jan Hooks, and Phil Hartman.
It ended with, “Six years of our boy Farley, five of our buddy Norm.”
The show didn’t have a formal “in memoriam” section, though it pretended to when 10-time host Tom Hanks came out somberly to mourn “SNL characters and sketches that have aged horribly.”
A montage began with the late Belushi’s “Samurai” character. The word “Yikes” appeared on screen in a sketch that included Mike Myers and a young Macaulay Culkin in a bathtub. A “body shaming” label appeared over the beloved sketch of Farley and the late Patrick Swayze as Chippendale’s dancers, and “slut shaming” appeared over one of the show’s earliest, catchphrases, Dan Aykroyd saying “Jane, you ignorant slut” to Jane Curtin. The current-day Aykroyd was a notable absence.
The oldest former cast member, 88-year-old Garrett Morris, appeared to introduce a film that showed the whole original cast.
“I had no idea y’all that I would be required to do so many reunion shows,” he said.
Sketches and bits jam-packed with former cast and hosts
The first sketch featured a mash-up of former cast members and hosts. Fred Armisen hosted a “Lawrence Welk Show” that featured Ferrell as Robert Goulet.
Former hosts Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson — Jost’s wife — gave an updated version of the elegant singing Maharelle Sisters with former cast members Ana Gasteyer and Wiig, who provided the traditional punchline “And I’m Dooneese” with a balding head and creepy, tiny doll arms.
It was followed by “Black Jeopardy,” hosted by the show’s longest-running (and still current) cast member, Kenan Thompson, who called the game show the only one “where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick’s halftime performance.”
It showcased many of the show’s most prominent Black cast members through the years including Tracy Morgan and Murphy, doing a Morgan impression.
“Big Dog gonna make some big money!” Murphy-as-Morgan shouted.
Streep walked on as the mother of McKinnon’s constant alien abductee Miss Rafferty, with the same spread legs and vulgar manner.
Streep’s fellow all-time-great actor Robert De Niro paired with Rachel Dratch in a “Debbie Downer” sketch with its traditional trombone accompaniment.
Former cast member Amy Poehler and former lead writer Tina Fey, who partnered as “Weekend Update” anchors, led a Q-and-A with audience questions.
Ryan Reynolds stood, and they asked him how it was going.
“Great, why?” he said defensively. “What have you heard?”
Reynolds and wife Blake Lively, sitting next to him, have been locked in a heated legal and media battle with her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Adam Driver, Cher, Bad Bunny, Peyton Manning, and Richards were also featured in the bit.
Poehler also paired with Rudolph for a revival of their mock talk show “Bronx Beat,” which featured Mike Myers as his mother-in-law-inspired, Streisand-loving character “Linda Richman.”
“Look at you, both of you, you look like buttah,” Myers said.
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In honor of Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary, we’re celebrating those hosts who are more than ready for primetime. But what makes someone one of the best SNL hosts of all time? For starters, the term “best” is subjective so this list is not one size fits all. It includes award-winning actors, charismatic athletes, and former SNL cast members. Though, probably not as many as some fans would hope. Sorry to Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Martin Short, but we had to be selective when it came to picking those who already have an edge on their competition.
The list features multiple Five-Timers Club members, those who have hosted SNL five times or more in its five-decade run, but also a few one-timers whose talents were just too hard to deny. Seriously, why hasn’t Donald Glover been back to host since 2018? There are some undeniably funny people on here, like Melissa McCarthy, while others earned their spot by surprising viewers with their impeccable comic timing. We’re looking at you Adam Driver!
It should be noted that there were a few recent hosts that we loved but felt they didn’t yet have the body of work to earn them a spot on the list just yet. However, we look forward to seeing what Aubrey Plaza, Ariana Grande, and Pedro Pascal do the next time they stop by Studio 8H. So from Alec Baldwin to Kristen Wiig, these are the 27 SNL hosts that never seem to disappoint.
Alec Baldwin
With 17 hosting gigs under his belt and one Emmy win, Alec Baldwin holds the honor of being the person who’s hosted the most times in SNL history. (By the way, this doesn’t count the nearly 60 times he’s popped up on the show to play President Donald Trump and other recurring characters.) Between 1990 and 2017, he made people laugh with iconic sketches like “Schweddy Balls” and the Glengarry Glen Ross Christmas-themed parody “always be cobbling.” Over the years, he’s become a contentious Hollywood figure off-screen and was even part of a notable SNL controversy back in the ’90s having appeared in a sketch that some argued made light of pedophilia. But Lorne Michaels keeps inviting Baldwin back for a reason. No matter what people think about him personally, he’s always been able to make them laugh.
Charles Barkley
Sure, in the four times former NBA superstar and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley has hosted SNL he has spent a lot of time looking at the cue cards. But something is endearing about how out of place he seems in the sketch setting. His natural charisma, charm, and outspokenness make up for what he may lack in acting abilities. Whether he’s playing a tutor at a homework hotline or an inmate trying to scare some students straight, it’s hard not to enjoy watching him do whatever it is he’s doing. Barkley may not be the GOAT, but, hands down, he’s one of the greatest athletes to host SNL.
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore first hosted SNL in 1982, not long after she had become a household name with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. At just seven years old, she became the youngest person to ever host SNL—a record she still holds—and proved that she had a knack for comedy that was well beyond her years. (The cold open featured a pigtailed Barrymore poking fun at then-SNL producer Dick Ebersol for banning Andy Kaufman.) She would return to host five more times in 1999, 2001 (notably the same week the studio had an anthrax scare), 2004, 2007, and 2009. Whether she was playing an overzealous Banana Republic salesperson, an awkward party magician, or Abigail Breslin on The Dakota Fanning Show, she never seemed afraid to get weird with it. The best example of this might be the time she took a dip in the hot tub with The Love-ahs.
Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen was the first woman to ever host SNL back in 1975—and would go on to host again that same calendar year. It would take her 15 years to become a member of the Five-Timers Club, but when she finally did in 1990 she was already known for a few iconic sketches including “Extremely Stupid,” a PSA from the Right to Extreme Stupidity League with Gilda Radner, the first appearance of Land Shark, and “Consumer Probe: Irwin Mainway” in which she plays a journalist interviewing Dan Aykroyd’s toy maker about unsafe items like Bag O’ Glass.
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Chalamet has hosted SNL three times since 2020 and each time the internet has gone crazy for his Troye Sivan impression, his terrible rapping, and his bond with a little horse in the truly absurd Digital Short “Tiny Horse,” which led to its futuristic follow-up “Giant Horse.” But the reason he made this list is his willingness to poke fun at his Martin Scorsese-directed perfume commercial or his tiny mustache but to also fart in someone’s face in the name of comedy. His willingness to embrace his internet boyfriendness while also butting against it (quite literally) is what makes him one of the best young actors in Hollywood and one of the best new-gen SNL hosts.
Danny DeVito
Each of the six times Danny DeVito has hosted SNL he has seemingly never missed a beat. Unlike many other hosts, he spends very little time staring at the cue cards, which makes every one of his bits seem totally natural. Chalk it up to his sitcom pedigree. DeVito could make you believe he was the guy wearing a wire trying not to incriminate himself someone going through an impromptu stress test or even a Gap girl. But his ability to do all of those things, sometimes in the same episode, is what makes him such an elite host.
Adam Driver
Four-time host Adam Driver never ceases to amaze. Whether he’s playing an oil baron, a way too committed medieval reenactor at Medieval Times, or Kylo Ren on an episode of Undercover Boss, he manages to use his dramatic acting chops to make everything seriously funny. Remember how he pronounced “biscotti”? It was a revelation. And the cast agrees that Driver is a natural. Colin Jost told the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast last year that Driver makes “interesting choices” as a host, comparing him to Will Ferrell in his ability to take over a table read. High praise that makes him worthy of earning a spot on this list.
Will Ferrell
Any time SNL MVP Will Ferrell returns to Studio 8H, it’s a welcome reminder of just how good he is at comedy. He seems to pick up right where he left off, but often does so without rehashing his best bits. Instead, he gifts SNL fans with entirely new material that feels destined to make his highlight reel: a reality star who really has changed, a co-worker who doesn’t like being teased, a guy who needs extra strength deodorant, a rapping flight attendant, and a weird teacher who attends his students’ house party. But sometimes Ferrell just being himself is funny enough. Don’t believe us? Just watch his 2019 monologue in which he spots Ryan Reynolds in the audience.
Donald Glover
Donald Glover has only hosted one time, in 2018, when he did double-duty as the musical guest. In his monologue, he joked that he actually auditioned for the show twice, and, honestly, he was still a little pissed about not making it. Well, Frank Sinatra once said, “The best revenge is a massive success,” and this episode proved the show had made a big mistake all those years ago. Glover managed to put together an episode with little filler, hitting notable highs with sketches that had him playing the lawyer for Jurassic Park, a rapper focused on therapy, a man stuck in the “Kanye Place,” and a husband who just can’t get into his wife’s dirty talk. This was enough to warrant him a spot on this list — and hopefully an invitation back very soon.
John Goodman
It’s been more than a decade since John Goodman last hosted, but in the 13 times he had the honor of doing so between 1989 and 2013, he put his comedy chops to good use. He played Wilford Brimley, a self-deluded loser, a Chicago Bears superfan who also loves Da Bulls, a dancing snowflake, and a salesman obsessed with Bill Bradsky. In between his hosting gigs, Goodman has made nearly as many cameo appearances playing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Monica Lewinsky confidante Linda Tripp. All of this proves just what a reliably good host he has always been and will still be.
Ryan Gosling
Despite Ryan Gosling’s penchant for breaking character, the three episodes he hosted in 2015, 2017, and 2024, are some of the most talked about. These episodes let Gosling show his range in digital shorts like “Papyrus,” where he goes crazy over the Avatar font. Or “Santa Baby” in which he turns a Christmas party into a Quentin Tarantino movie. He giggled his way through “Close Encounter” alongside his Barbie costar Kate McKinnon, who plays a very honest alien abductee. More recently, he made everyone LOL with Season 49’s most-watched sketch where he and Mikey Day play guys who inexplicably look like Beavis and Butt-Head. What has become evidently clear is that when Gosling hosts, it is a must-see TV.
Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish made her SNL hosting debut in 2017 right after the release of Girl’s Trip and won an Emmy for the one and only time she hosted. While her monologue let her show off her stand-up skills, it was bits like “The Last Black Unicorn” and “Tournament Fighter” that showed she has a real knack for sketch comedy. Her best moment came during the real kitten-filled “Whiskers R We” sketch in which she ad-libbed a line that did something rather rare: caused Kate McKinnon to break live on-air.
Jon Hamm
When three-time host Jon Hamm made his debut in 2008, he proved once and for all that he was nothing like his Mad Men character Don Draper. While he did poke fun at Don’s womanizing ways in a Digital Short called “Don Draper’s Guide” to Dating,” he spent most of his time playing a string of bizarre characters. From embodying a Kenny G-esque saxophone player in the Digital Short “The Curse” to pitching his new restaurant venture with Michael Bublé called Hamm & Bublé (it’s pronounced “bubbly,” FYI), he was always committed to the bit. And that kind of dedication deserves to be rewarded with a spot on this list.
Tom Hanks
The nicest guy in Hollywood has hosted SNL ten times between 1985 and 2020, and he always feels right at home. (Fun fact: he was the first person to talk about the Five-Timers Club, which, luckily, doesn’t follow the Fight Club mantra.) You never have to worry about his eyeline being off or him forgetting his lines. He always seems more than able to keep up with the fast-paced live show and more than willing to play against type. See: his appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy. But his best SNL moments are those when he goes full weirdo like “The Haunted Elevator” sketch in which he plays David S. Pumpkins, who really is his own thang.
Scarlett Johansson
Those who thought Scarlett Johansson was just a serious actress were proven wrong when she made her SNL hosting debut in 2006 playing a Scandinavian Food Network host and a Super Sweet 16 subject who also happens to be pregnant. Now, as a six-time host, she has shown that she can make a lot of things funny: a troupe of precocious child actors performing Brokeback Mountain, a bionic flight attendant, Kunk the Mermaid. She has also revealed she has a real knack for selling opulent chandeliers, marble columns, porcelain fountains, and ceramic busts. Look at that!
Peyton Manning
The one time that NFL legend Peyton Manning hosted Saturday Night Live in 2007, he showed what a natural onscreen presence he was off the field, too. The two-time Super Bowl champion managed to flip his good guy persona on its head for the exemplary Digital Short “United Way” and busted a move alongside Will Forte in the iconic “Locker Room Motivation” sketch. If Manning’s SNL career really does turn out to be one and done, it’s clear that he’s going out a winner. Seriously, is there anything this guy can’t do?
Steve Martin
Some have argued that Steve Martin, who has hosted Saturday Night Live 16 times since making his debut in 1976, is the best host of all time. If you watch some of his best bits—“King Tut,” “Two Wild and Crazy Guys,” his holiday wish, or his 1991 musical cold open about not phoning it in, to name a few—it’s hard to disagree. Martin has the honor of being the only person to host the show five years in a row. He hosted three times in 1978 alone, twice in the same season. He appeared live from New York so often, that it would be easy to assume that he was a full-time cast member. He wasn’t, but he has always had an uncanny ability to make any sketch a little better. Even the not-so-good ones. On The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast last year, Andy Samberg apologized for making Martin appear in a mediocre sketch called “Surf Meeting,” which even Martin couldn’t save no matter how hard he tried. And, boy, did he! But Martin’s ability to lift any sketch up without punching down is why he is one of, if not the best host SNL has ever seen.
Melissa McCarthy
Between 2011 and 2017, Melissa McCarthy hosted SNL five times, dazzling viewers with her unparalleled skills as a sketch comedian. (She won an Emmy for her most recent appearance.) The former Groundling is hilarious as a frazzled aspiring pizza shop owner or a co-worker with a crush or a daughter looking to exact her revenge. She is pitch perfect as the confused Vanna White-like host of a game show called Million Dollar Wheel and the abusive basketball coach-turned-Congress member Sheila Kelly. (Let’s not forget she also played Donald Trump’s one-time press secretary Sean Spicer for the brief time he had the job.) No matter who she’s playing or what wig she’s wearing, she always manages to steal the scene.
John Mulaney
When the former SNL writer and stand-up comedian shows up to Studio 8H, he never seems to disappoint. It’s why John Mulaney has hosted six times in the last seven years, making two appearances in 2020. He always finds a way to delight the audience with wonderfully weird material: a Sound of Music parody, a reboot of the (fake) 1987 bodyswap sitcom Switcheroo, and four New York-centric Broadway musical parodies. Of course, we’d expect nothing less from the guy who gave us Stefon.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman made her SNL greatness known when she appeared in one of the most iconic Digital Shorts to date, “Natalie Raps.” Honestly, that might be enough to warrant a spot on the list, but rewatch her 2006 and 2018 episodes and you’ll witness her flexing her comedy muscles. The Academy Award-winner did an impression of Eleven on Stranger Things, showed off her New England accent, wore her little Jackie O hat, and dropped another rap. While we might not be able to say something nice about Jar Jar Binks (sorry, Natalie), we can say that Portman is a natural comedian.
Paul Rudd
It’s safe to say Paul Rudd is one of the most reliably great SNL hosts. Whether the Five-Timer is playing the straight man in the “Single Ladies” sketch that had Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg doing Beyoncé’s iconic dance or embracing his inner weirdo in bits like “Kissing Family,” his natural hilarity shines through. That consistency is what makes Rudd the kind of guy you want to hang out with for an hour and a half on a Saturday night. Lucky for us, Lorne agrees.
Paul Simon
The Five-Timer made his debut in 1975 on the show’s second episode, but it’s his monologue from the following year that solidified him as one of the best SNL hosts of all time. He took the stage dressed as a Thanksgiving turkey to sing “Still Crazy After All These Years,” only to stop midway through to complain about the concept to his buddy Lorne Michaels. He was concerned he looked stupid, but that turkey costume made for one of the most unforgettable moments in the show’s history. His SNL appearances proved that Simon was more than just a generational singer and songwriter. he was a pretty great comedian. Not to mention, a pretty good basketball player, too.
Emma Stone
Every time Emma Stone hosts SNL she proves why she deserves to be both a member of the Five-Timers Club and a two-time Academy Award winner. Stone grew up admiring SNL greats Gilda Radner and Molly Shannon and it often feels as if she’s channeling them when she plays a squeaky-voiced dorm room poster girl hungry for fat, greasy burgers or a clairvoyant ‘60s music exec trying to help Mama Cass understand how she’ll influence the movie trailers of the future or a mom searching for a toy for her very special boy in the commercial parody “Wells for Boys,” one of SNL’s absolute best Digital Shorts. Her impeccable range and ability to bring a hilarious level of dramatic gravitas to even the silliest premises (see: “The Actress”) is what has made her one of the best hosts of her generation.
Justin Timberlake
From 2003 to 2013, Justin Timberlake hosted SNL five times and won two Emmys. This was in large part thanks to his team-up with the Lonely Island on “Dick in a Box.” But the pop star was more than a one-hit wonder, finding success with sketches like “The Barry Gibb Talkshow,” the Lady Gaga-assisted digital short “3-Way (The Golden Rule),” and “The Merryville Brothers: Love Tunnel,” in which he plays a theme park animatronic. All of his SNL hits perfectly blend his comic timing with his pop star abilities, making him a host all his own.
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken has a way of making even the most humdrum words sound like pure comedy gold. It’s a skill that has served him well in each of his seven SNL appearances. When hosting in 2008, he played a gardener who puts googly eyes on his plants to make them less scary. The whole sketch was built around the way he says “googly,” which may sound one-note but just try not to laugh at the way he says that word. It’s nearly impossible. While he’s been a part of a few notable sketches in his time—the recurring (and genuinely creepy) “The Continental” and a bit about a manager interviewing a job applicant who happens to be a centaur—his best moment on the show has to be the legendary “More Cowbell” sketch. He plays the legendary (fake) producer Bruce Dickinson who lets Blue Oyster Cult know just how much he needs, what else, more cowbell. That Walken can keep a straight face while everyone else is breaking, including consummate professional Will Ferrell, is a feat that very few hosts could pull off. Perhaps, this is why he is one of only a few hosts who has his own Best Of SNL video.
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington made her hosting debut in 2013 shortly after the show was called out for its lack of Black female cast members. Her episode’s cold open poked fun at the fact that Washington had to play every Black woman in the sketch—First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah, and Beyoncé—because they did not have a Black woman in the cast. It even included a meta apology to Washington for putting her in this precarious position. But Washington didn’t get bogged down by the show’s controversy, she rolled with it, finding laughs with sketches that had her playing a contestant on MTV’s (fake) dating show Date or Diss, an art teacher who probably shouldn’t have volunteered to be in the dunk tank, and the host of the phony game show Cartoon Catchphrase. Washington’s one and only appearance was so good it earned her a spot on this list — and hopefully will help her get another chance to host again soon.
Kristen Wiig
Every time Kristen Wiig returns to her old stomping grounds, you realize just how much SNL misses her. (Not to mention, how fun she is to write for since she’s often in every sketch.) Since making her hosting debut in 2013, just one year after she left the show, the recent Five-Timers Club inductee has revisited some of her signature characters, including Aunt Linda. But she is also never afraid to experiment, embracing the WTF-ness of a dance-crazy French pop star, a woman who is afraid of being Jumanji’ed or a deranged Pilates instructor. Her uninhibited approach to comedy is what makes her one of the best SNL cast members to ever do it — and, now, one of the best hosts.