Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years on the air this year–and it will be back for its 51st season, most likely in the later months of the 2025 TV schedule. Despite its legendary status, SNL will always have its Debbie Downers who trash the popular NBC sketch comedy show. However, the Tonight Show‘s drummer and Oscar-winning musician Questlove recently pointed out why this happens, and I’ve never really considered this take.
Why People Trash SNL, According To Questlove
Very few SNL cast members stay more than a decade–I can count them on one hand. Of course, the record for the longest-running stint is held by Kenan Thompson, who has remained on the show since 2003. Otherwise, from decade to decade, there is a noticeable turnover of fresh faces and voices, bringing with them new comedic ideas.
SNL 50 music documentary and homecoming concert, and he told Today that these transition periods are not usually embraced with open minds, explaining:
Lorne Michaels’ legacy program to consistently receive both criticism and praise at the same time over the course of 50 years:
You grasp on it, like, either in late middle school or the beginning of high school, and then it becomes your thing in college. Then you sort of step off the train once you go to adulthood. But another generation comes and embraces it. Once I realized that it’s just the passing down of the torch of a generation, then I realized that ‘SNL’ still has the power to speak to people.
I’ve never really stopped to think about it, but this makes total sense. It’s more than just certain sketches not aging well. It’s about a new generation taking over the discourse of popular culture, and therefore a tonal shift of Saturday Night comedy.
After Considering Questlove’s Take, Here’s Why I Agree
When you think about the early days of SNL Digital Shorts, largely spearheaded by a young Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island, it makes sense that it took place from 2005-2010, alongside the rise of YouTube and viral internet videos. For OG SNL fans, from Boomers to Gen X, this was not the live format they were used to, and the Lonely Island style was chaotic in editing and content. But it spoke to younger generations, and now “Dick In A Box” and “Threw It On The Ground” are classic SNL sketches.
Watch On
SNL has always been at the forefront of current events and pop culture. If you haven’t watched Beyond Saturday Night, I highly recommend you do. The docuseries spends an episode following writers and cast members as they go through the grueling, yet thrilling, cycle of writing a weekly hour-and-a-half-long live sketch comedy show, and it gives you a deep insight into their thought processes and the evolution of the show.
These days, that process focuses a lot on the viral trends of social media, which is how we got Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris saying “Very demure, very mindful,” in a cold open this year.
Among other viral moments, a parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song “Espresso” waterfalled into an SNL cast member attending the popstar’s concert in costume. To a lot of older SNL fans, who are not chronically on TikTok, the Domingo sketches might not have hit for them. But they went viral with Gen Z, bringing in a whole new fan base that resonated with the sketches.
Watch On
Like most, I was introduced to SNL by my parents. So I appreciate the classics like “More Cowbell,” “Matt Foley: Van Down By The River,” and “Mary Catherine Gallagher.” I am nostalgic for the casts of Samberg, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolph. And like most of Gen Z, I thought Seasons 49 and 50 were the two best seasons in the last 10 years.
So, I have a love and appreciation for many different generations of the show. However, it also makes Questlove’s point clearer.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the upcoming Season 51. With a lot of rumors about cast members moving on, like Mikey Day and Bowen Yang, I have to hope my favorites stay in Studio 8H for another year. However, there’s always the chance I phase out of SNL this season, per Questlove’s point. I’ll tell you one thing, though: “Direct from Domingo” will always live rent-free in my head.