Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!

Origin

During the show's first season, the show was known simply as NBC's Saturday Night because ABC was broadcasting a program titled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. Thus, the phrase for NBC was worded differently than ABC’s program. The phrase was kept intact even after ABC's SNL was canceled and NBC's Saturday Night adopted the SNL name for itself.

Instances used

The phrase is typically spoken by one or more of: a host, cast member(s), and/or the musical guest. It has been exclaimed in every season except one (the 1981–1982 season, the first full season with Dick Ebersol as producer, except the October 31, 1981 episode).

It was first said live on air by Chevy Chase, on SNLs first show on October 11, 1975. Lorne Michaels later explained in an oral history of the show that he made the decision to do a cold open on the Thursday night before the premiere episode. Using the phrase to signal the transition from the opening sketch to the rest of the show was a risky move, because it was immediately preceded by a surrealist sketch (indeed, the show's very first one) and the audience was not yet familiar with the show's format.

For all but two of the first season's 24 episodes (Garrett Morris when Richard Pryor hosted and Gerald Ford when Ron Nessen hosted), Chase delivered the phrase after a pratfall of some kind. Even when the show is not aired on a Saturday—such as the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday specials aired from 2008 to 2012, and again in 2017—the traditional line is used.

The person delivering the phrase usually breaks character and the fourth wall, in that the phrase is normally not spoken to other cast members as part of the regular dialogue in the opening sketch. Instead, the person suddenly turns (if not already facing downstage) and delivers the phrase directly to the audience and the camera with a full-throated shout. At the same time, the camera zooms in for a tight close-up shot of the person's face, followed by a dissolve or smash cut to the show's opening montage and titles. In other sketches, when the phrase is delivered by multiple cast members, the camera usually zooms out as they shout the line.

Readings by special guests

The line has occasionally been given to a non-host/non-cast member for cameo purposes. This could be for stars like Brad Pitt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, or for more unusual celebrities like Ron Darling, John McLaughlin (on October 26, 1991), Monica Lewinsky, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire winner John Carpenter, WWE chairman Vince McMahon (on March 18, 2000), Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani (on September 29, 2001, two weeks after the September 11 attacks), Carolyn Kepcher (on April 3, 2004), Al Sharpton (on November 2, 2013), Jason Aldean (on October 7, 2017, after paying tribute to the lives lost in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and to the late Tom Petty), and Stormy Daniels (on May 5, 2018). Guest choristers said the line after singing on December 15, 2012, in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, but read it in a more restrained tone.

Presidents and presidential hopefuls

Gerald Ford opened the show with the phrase (in a pre-recorded segment) on April 17, 1976, which came during his presidency, when press secretary Ron Nessen was host. A series of presidential and vice presidential hopefuls have also announced the phrase on their appearances on the show, beginning with Bob Dole on November 16, 1996 (coming after the 1996 election). It was announced by Barack Obama on November 3, 2007, by Hillary Clinton on March 1, 2008, by Sarah Palin on October 18, 2008, by John McCain on November 1, 2008, by Elizabeth Warren on March 7, 2020, by Nikki Haley on February 3, 2024, and by Kamala Harris on November 2, 2024.

In popular culture

In The Simpsons episode "Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky", the line is spoken by a sleep deprived Marge.

In the second part of "The Golden Girls" two-part special "Home Again Rose", Rose yells the line in her daughter Kirsten's ear when she asks her to come close to tell her something very important.

Notes

References

References

1. (2024). "The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live". Rowman & Littlefield.
2. (2024). "The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live". Rowman & Littlefield.
3. (26 April 2020). "Brad Pitt Plays Dr. Anthony Fauci in an At-Home Edition of 'S.N.L.'". New York Times.
4. (29 March 2015). "The Rock Obama Cold Open - SNL". NBC.
5. "America's 'Saturday Night' Date With Monica". Washington Post.
6. "Saturday Night Live Highlight: 9/11 Tribute with Mayor Giuliani".
7. (8 October 2018). "SNL Transcripts: Donald Trump: 04/03/04: The Apprentice".
8. "Michelle Obama at the White House Cold Open".
9. "October 7 - Gal Gadot".
10. "TV Review: NBC 'Saturday Night' Meets Ford People", by John J. O'Connor, ''The New York Times'', April 19, 1976, p. 57
11. "March 7 - Daniel Craig".