Saturday Night Live has been a mainstay comedy series for decades now. The very first show was on October 11, 1975, making 2025 its 50th year on air. Throughout the years, Saturday Night Live skits have become ingrained into the cultural milieu, spawning their own sketch sequels months or even years later. The series has also received critical acclaim, including over 300 Emmy nominations, making it the most-nominated television show of all time. SNL has had several famous hosts, most recently including Timothée Chalamet on January 25.
The creator behind it was writer and producer Lorne Michaels, who was only 30 years old when he first started the sketch comedy series. Now 80 years of age, Michaels is still a producer and showrunner for Saturday Night Live. As the series enters its 50th year, rumors of the producer’s retirement have been swirling, but Michael has not announced plans to retire. Last year, a biographical drama was created to chronicle Michaels and the start of Saturday Night Live, which is now doing well on streaming.
Saturday Night Has Found Its Big Break On The Netflix Charts
Saturday Night Originally Released In October 2024
Saturday Night is now doing well on Netflix. The fast-paced biographical drama chronicles what happened in the 90 minutes before the very first Saturday Night Live broadcast on October 11, 1975. The movie is directed by Jason Reitman and features Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, and Lamorne Morris. Saturday Night received decent reviews, getting 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it underperformed at the box office. The film ultimately made an unimpressive $9.8 million at the worldwide box office.
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Saturday Night: How The Real Original SNL Cast Members Felt About The Movie
Saturday Night captured the spirit and emotion of the fateful night when SNL first went live, leading to the original cast weighing in on the movie.
Saturday Night has now landed on the Netflix charts, despite its box office misfortune. The movie is ranked no. 4 on the streamer’s top 10 charts in the United States today, January 29. This feat comes just after the film was added to the platform on January 25.
Our Take On Saturday Night’s Netflix Success
It Came Out During A Competitive Time
Saturday Night‘s box office disappointment was somewhat perplexing given the topic and that the film was generally favored by the public. This may have been due to its competitive release time. September 2024 also saw the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Wild Robot, and Transformers One, and the first weekend of October boasted Joker: Folie à Deux, all of which posed a challenge to Saturday Night during its limited and wide releases. The movie’s delayed, but prominent success on Netflix shows that its box office underperformance may have been more about timing than a disinterest in the movie.
Source: Netflix
Saturday Night
- Release Date
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October 11, 2024
- Runtime
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109 Minutes
- Director
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Jason Reitman
- Writers
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Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman