Six highlights from the SNL 50th Anniversary Special

six moments that made me giggle or sob or say 'awww'

Anyone that knows anything about me probably already knows that I am a big fan of the show Saturday Night Live. I’m a comedy producer who wants to work in television! Of course I still keep up with the only live comedy television show!

To no surprise, I planned my entire month around this specific Sunday because I was excited for the 50th anniversary special. In fact, I even invited friends over to watch all three and a half hours with me (four and a half if you include the red carpet).

Here are the five moments that stuck with me:

Kristen Wiig talking about ‘Butt Pregnancy’ on the red carpet

There is a sketch that originally aired in 2004 that I got really obsessed with. The premise? Amy Poehler shows up at a baby shower and she is not regular pregnant but she’s pregnant in her butt. Yes. That really aired on national television.

Anyway, last year this sketch became a special interest of mine that I actually wrote about in an earlier entry because I could not find a recording of it anywhere. It sense has been uploaded to Reddit and (of course) I have a version of it saved in multiple, secret places.

But a fun fact about Butt Pregnancy is that the JB Smoove written piece of SNL history that became the obsession of a 29 year old woman in Brooklyn is……..drumroll please……IT WAS KRISTEN WIIG’S FIRST SKETCH! And she talked about it briefly on the red carpet with Leslie Jones.

nbc

A post shared by @nbc

The Latino Trinity

I didn’t like the original Domingo sketch that aired earlier this season and took over the internet. It is fine and I get why some people enjoy it but it isn’t my sense of humor because I’m a buzzkill. And I really didn’t like when they revived it AGAIN because the internet loved it so much, again, because I’m a buzzkill. But PLOT TWIST: I DID like how they brought the concept back a THIRD TIME. Why? Because third times the charm, duh.

If you are one of those people who brags about not having Tiktok: the Domingo sketch is basically a bunch of bridesmaids who accidentally tattle on the bride for having a Latin lover named Domingo, portrayed by Marcelo Hernandez. You can catch up on more details here.

Why was the third rendition of this better? Glad you asked! Because they brought in Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny as Ronaldo and Santiago aka Domingo’s brothers. That is the only reason this was good. I love those two men.

photo by NBC

An Actually Funny Weekend Update

I promise I am a fan of this show despite the fact I am also sorta like a critical asshole. But as Colin Jost mentioned last night, him and Michael Che have been sitting at the Weekend Update desk for a record amount of time. It is time for a change. That and last night they didn’t focus only on politics.

Cecily Strong brought back the iconic but this time pregnant The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With At a Party character and Bobby Monihan followed with Your Favorite Drunk Uncle. Both were at the top of their comedic timing game and I giggled quite a bit.

The rest of the segment was decent too but it went a little more meta and picked at SNL specific humor so I won’t divulge into that because, let’s be real, anyone that got those jokes were probably watching the special live.

Aubrey Plaza wore a tie dye shirt

On a more serious note, Aubrey Plaza made her first public appearance since her husband Jeff Baena died earlier this year. While her presence was only there to introduce Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s beautiful duet, she subtly paid tribute to her late partner with a tie dye shirt that was under a black blazer.

The internet was buzzing after Aubrey’s brief moment on the special passed. And soon, the clip of her talking about getting married in tie dyed pajamas because her husband had gotten really into tie dying made the rounds. Just thinking of that sort of loss had me in tears. I hope you’re taking care of yourself, Aubrey. My heart goes out to you.

photo by NBC

Garrett Morris introduces ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’

The incredible Garrett Morris, an original cast member and the first Black man on Saturday Night Live, introduced an eerie film from 1978 called Don’t Look Back in Anger. The graveyard setting isn’t what makes this film a bit creepy. It is more the fact that John Belushi stands in the midst of a cemetery, supposedly gazing upon the gravestones of his fellow season one cast mates. As he looks around, he calls them by name and states their cause of death.

Obviously this concept wasn’t supposed to evoke a sad, somber, and almost spooky vibe that it does as a viewer in 2025. How was Belushi supposed to know of his untimely demise? And to have Garrett Morris (a guy who has one of those names that you just HAVE TO say both the first and last name every time, right?) front and center before airing Don’t Look Back in Anger was truly remarkable.

Gilda said goodnight

At the end of every episode, the entire cast comes out to say goodnight. And while the special’s cast was quite large, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman held up their friend’s picture so she could be honored in Studio 8H once again.