Saturday Night Live (SNL) is alate-nightsketch comedy andvariety show created byLorne Michaels. It premiered onNBC on October 11, 1975, under the titleNBC's Saturday Night. The show usually satirizes contemporary American popular culture and politics, and it has featured a wide array of hosts and musical guests.SNL features a two-tiered cast: the repertory members, also known as the "Not Ready for Prime-Time Players", and newer cast members, known as "Featured Players." A typical episode ofSNL features a guest host, who delivers the opening monologue and goodnights, introduces the musical guest, and performs in sketches with the cast. While the format also features a musical guest, and many episodes feature celebrity cameos, the focus of the show is the guest host.

George Carlin hosted the show on its premiere episode.^[1] Three episodes later,Candice Bergen became the first female host^[2] and she was the first to host a second time later in 1975.^[3] Guests who host five times become members of the Five-Timers Club, introduced on the December 8, 1990, episode, whenTom Hanks became the seventh person to host their fifth episode.^[4] ActorAlec Baldwin holds the record for most times hosting, having done so seventeen times since 1990; Baldwin took the record from actorSteve Martin who has hosted sixteen times since 1976.^[5]

Several former cast members have returned to take on hosting duties. Original cast memberChevy Chase has hosted the most times, eight in total.Tina Fey follows behind, having hosted six times, whileBill Murray andWill Ferrell have hosted five times. On December 11, 1982,Eddie Murphy became the only person to host while still a member of the cast, filling the role at the last minute when the scheduled host (his48 Hours co-starNick Nolte) became ill.^[6][7] Multiple former writers have also returned to host:Conan O'Brien (one in 2001),Louis C.K. (four since 2012),Larry David (twice since 2016) andJohn Mulaney (six since 2018).

Musical guests can be solo acts or bands, who perform two to three musical numbers.Dave Grohl is the most frequent musical guest, performing on sixteen shows since 1992.^[8][9] There have been 47 episodes on which the show's host also served as the musical guest; the first wasPaul Simon on the second episode on October 18, 1975.^[10] Themost recent to pull double duty wasSabrina Carpenter on October 18, 2025.The Rolling Stones are the only band to ever serve as both host and musical guest during the same episode, which aired October 7, 1978.^[11]

In 1982, at age 7,Drew Barrymore became the youngest person to host the show.Betty White is the oldest person to host, having done so at 88 years of age in 2010;^[12] several cast members were on standby to replace her if she became fatigued but she appeared through the whole show as planned.^[13] In 2000, singerBritney Spears was the youngest person to both host and simultaneously serve as the show's musical guest, at 18 years and 161 days old.^[14]

In addition to making cameo appearances, political figures have also hosted the show.Donald Trump, who hosted in 2004 (promotingThe Apprentice) and in 2015 asa presidential hopeful, is the only host who eventually became President of the United States.Al Gore hosted in 2002, the only former vice president to do so. Former, current, or future presidential candidates who have hosted includeRalph Nader (1977),Jesse Jackson andGeorge McGovern (both 1984),Steve Forbes (1996),Rudy Giuliani (1997),John McCain (2002), andAl Sharpton (2003).Sarah Palin appeared onSNL in 2008 after weeks of Tina Fey doing impressions of her on the show. In more recent years,Bernie Sanders,Elizabeth Warren andNikki Haley appeared on the show during their presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024, respectively. In November 2024,Vice PresidentKamala Harris appeared on the last pre-election episode alongsideMaya Rudolph, who portrayed her on the show. The episode also featuredVirginia Senator and former candidate for Vice PresidentTim Kaine.

The Five-Timers Club is the group of performers who have hostedSNL at least five times.^{[15][16][17][18]}SNL first mentioned the Club on December 8, 1990, whenTom Hanks said that it was his fifth appearance as host in his monologue:

Believe it or not, this is the fifthSaturday Night Live I have been lucky enough to host. Now, the first time you do the show, you can't believe you're here. You just can't believe it. Your head buzzes with excitement. The second time you do the show, it means you were funny enough to be asked back – and you're pushing a movie. The third time you do the show, the second time didn't go so well, and you have something to prove to yourself. The fourth time you do the show, you're just blatantly pushing a movie. But the fifth time you do the show is the most special time of all, because you get this [holds up a card] ...a membership card in the Five-Timers Club. Come with me... [walks off the stage] I'm gonna give you a chance to look in on one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.^[19]

After Hanks delivered his monologue, the show segued to a sketch set in a richly appointedprivate club, featuring Hanks and Five-TimersSteve Martin,Elliott Gould, andPaul Simon, who had actually only served as host four times.^[a] Then-writerConan O'Brien appeared in a cameo as a doorman.^[23]

Chevy Chase was the first formerSNL cast member to both host the show and join the Five-Timers Club. This was subsequently done by Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Wiig. Martin Short joined this list upon hosting on December 21, 2024. Mulaney is the second former writer to join the Five-Timers Club, as Fey was the head writer as well as a cast member.^[24] The Five-Timers Club was next mentioned whenDanny DeVito was inducted in 1999 (although it was actually his sixth time hosting). The mark featured on the show when reached by hostsJohn Goodman (1994),Alec Baldwin (1994),Christopher Walken (2001),Drew Barrymore (2007),Justin Timberlake (2013),Ben Affleck (2013),Scarlett Johansson (2017),Melissa McCarthy (2017),Dwayne Johnson (2017),Jonah Hill (2018),Paul Rudd (2021),John Mulaney (2022),Woody Harrelson (2023),Emma Stone (2023),Kristen Wiig (2024), andMartin Short (2024).

In 2006, a sketch featuring Steve Martin and Baldwin introduced thePlatinum Lounge, featuring only hosts that have hosted the show at least twelve times, on the occasion of Baldwin's 13th time hosting the show (Steve Martin had hosted 14 times at the time).^[25] Martin Short appeared as a waiter, as he would during many subsequent Five-Timers Club sketches. Since then, John Goodman has become the third person to host more than twelve times. The club has been spoofed bySNL itself. During her fourth appearance as host in April 2019,Emma Stone anticipated "Four-Timers Club" honors in her monologue.^[26]Paul Rudd was the next person to host for the fifth time, although his show was affected due to the rise ofOmicron cases, which resulted in a reduced cast and no audience.

Jonah Hill was taken to the Club by Five-TimerTina Fey. Once in, he is greeted by Candice Bergen, and Drew Barrymore. Seeing no men in the club, Hill wonders if it's "Ladies Night". He is told by Fey that the other men "are not allowed in right now" because ofpresumed harassment problems.^[27] During her fifth monologue,Kristen Wiig is welcomed by multiple former hosts appearing in Five Timers jackets despite not being members, includingMartin Short (hosted four times),Matt Damon (two times),Fred Armisen (once),Jon Hamm (three times),Will Forte (once), andRyan Gosling (twice; he hosted his third episode the following week), who presented Wiig with the jacket.^[28][29] Actual club memberPaul Rudd also appeared alongside former SNL writerPaula Pell and producerLorne Michaels.^[28]

During its first 12 seasons (1975–1987),SNL frequently featured guest performances from standups, magicians, and other unusual entertainers who would do their own act on the stage in between sketches. This variety show element was lost as the show made the cast the focus.Jack Black andKyle Gass's comedy bandTenacious D is the only act to perform in one of these slots on the show since the 1980s.

• List ofSaturday Night Live cast members
• List ofSaturday Night Live writers
• List ofSaturday Night Live episodes

• Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (2002).Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. United States:Hachette Book Group USA.ISBN 0-316-73565-5.

• Saturday Night Live lists

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