History of Saturday Night Live

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The long-running American late-night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) first premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, and its fifty-first and most recent season premiered on October 4, 2025. Created by Lorne Michaels, who is the original and current showrunner, its history has been shaped by its large and constantly-changing cast of performers, as well as changes in its writing staff from year to year. It has played a prominent role in American popular culture and television since its inception, and changing attitudes towards cultural diversity have been evident particularly in its recent history. Initially called NBC's Saturday Night and envisioned as something closer to a traditional variety show, the program was developed as a replacement for reruns of The Tonight Show and quickly became a staple of late-night television. The early years of SNL were dominated by its initial cast of performers, which became known as the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", and included such performers...

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