Saturday Night Live will be embarking on its 40th season on NBC next year, and according to NYT reporter Bill Carter the occasion will be marked with a live three-hour special next February 15th similar to the 25th anniversary special in 1999. News of the special joins the extended version of the oral history book Live from New York coming out this September as the first two of most likely many tributes to Lorne Michaels’s groundbreaking sketch comedy show.
Click through to watch Bill Murray bring back his Nick the Lounge Singer character for the star-studded 25th anniversary show and read the official statement from NBC:
“‘Saturday Night Live’ is an institution unlike anything else in television history,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “The many brilliant ‘Not Ready for Primetime Players’ over the years is a who’s who of film and television comedy for the last two generations. The roster includes everyone from the iconic first cast in 1975 to household names ranging from Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, and Adam Sandler, to Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, tina-fey-snl__130929172718-275x180and Seth Meyers — to name only a few. This brand, which is still one of the highest-rated comedies on television, was the brainchild of Lorne Michaels, who still presides over the whole enterprise today. This special is just one of the many ways we plan to celebrate ‘SNL’s historic 40th season next year.”“Saturday Night Live” has won 40 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. “SNL” also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 171 nominations. “SNL” has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as “truly a national institution.”
“Saturday Night Live” was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters. The show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week.
Broadcast live from NBC’s famed Studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, “Saturday Night Live” premiered Oct. 11, 1975. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer. (via Deadline)