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SNL Shares Famous Cast Alumni Auditions in New 50th Anniversary Special Promo: Watch
The highly anticipated three-hour live primetime special airs Sunday, February 16, on NBC and Peacock.
The highly-anticipated Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special will celebrate a half century of the comedy show — and a new promo for the February 16 event unearths rare audition tapes from future SNL legends.
A new clip teasing the upcoming three-hour SNL50: The Anniversary Special features familiar faces like Amy Poehler, Dan Aykroyd, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, and more, all taking the Studio 8H stage for the (terrifying) first time.
Not only do we see the comedic actors nervously introduce themselves in the vintage videos, we also get to witness the debut of some of their now-iconic characters, such as Will Forte's Tim Calhoun, Kristen Wiig's Target Lady, Chris Kattan's Mr. Peepers, Fred Armisen's Fericito, and Dana Carvey's The Church Lady.
Get a peek at the casting process in the fascinating promo video above.
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Peacock's Beyond Saturday Night docuseries includes an episode about the audition process
Peacock's upcoming four-part docuseries, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, is an all-access pass to behind the scenes of SNL, with each episode diving into a different aspect — including auditions.
The first episode, "Five Minutes," illuminates the SNL audition process, pulling back the curtain to share never-before-seen audition footage and firsthand stories from some of the show’s most iconic cast and writers as they reflect on how they prepared, and what happened in those potentially life-changing minute onstage.
But this isn't the first time SNL has opened the audition archives. 2015's SNL40 anniversary special boasted a highlight reel of auditions from cast members, and celebrities who didn't make the cut, including Kevin Hart and Zach Galifianakis.
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"Before any of us joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, we all had to audition on this very stage. My audition was the scariest of my entire life, until right now," SNL alum Pete Davidson joked on the 40th anniversary special, when he and Leslie Jones introduced the segment. Watch it below.
How to watch and stream SNL50: The Anniversary Special
SNL will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a weekend-long look back at the late-night sketch series, culminating in the three-hour SNL50: The Anniversary Special. The program will air Sunday, February 16 from 8-11 p.m. E.T. on NBC and Peacock.
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Ahead of the February 16 special, NBC will broadcast the documentary Ladies & Gentleman ... 50 Years of SNL Music, co-directed by Oz Rodriguez and The Roots drummer, Tonight Show bandleader, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Questlove. The movie premieres January 27 on NBC.
