Saturday Night Live stars reunite for epic 50th anniversary special

The stars of Saturday Night Live reunited and brought in the biggest names in Hollywood for the sketch show's 50th anniversary special.

The SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration—a three-and-a-half-hour comedy marathon—kicked off with a performance by Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter.

The pair performed Homeward Bound, which Paul played on the show in 1976 with George Harrison. Sabrina joked that she "was not born" then, before adding, "And neither were my parents."

After the performance, the pair said the iconic show-opening line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”

Watch Paul and Sabrina's performance below.

Watch the 1976 performance with Paul and George below.

The show's opening monologue came from Steve Martin, who described himself as the show's newest "diversity hire".

He was later joined by fellow funnyman John Mulaney, who looked at the studio audience and declared, "I see some of the most difficult people I have ever met in my entire life. Over the course of 50 years, 894 people have hosted Saturday Night Live, and it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder."

Steve Martin later joked about a rare appearance from former castmember Bill Murray, saying: "We wanted to make sure that Bill would be here tonight, so we didn’t invite him."

Bill, who was a regular on the show from 1977 until 1980, appeared in the "Weekend Update" segment alongside Colin Jost to list the bit's top 10 hosts through history.

Other former cast members to make an appearance included Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Will Ferrell.

Former hosts Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson—who is married to Colin Jost—also appeared and starred in a sketch together, while Ryan Reynolds also appeared in a skit with former cast member Amy Poehler and former lead writer Tina Fey.

Other stars who appeared in sketches include Drew Barrymore, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Adam Driver, Cher, and Bad Bunny, while Tom Hanks introduced the show's version of an in memoriam segment featuring sketches and characters that have "aged horribly".

Alec Baldwin—who has hosted the show 17 times over the years—was also included, as well as Aubrey Plaza—who interned at Saturday Night Live during the 2004–2005 season—who returned to public life following the death of her husband Jeff Baena in January.

The show also featured musical performances from Miley Cyrus, Brittany Howard, Lil Wayne, The Roots, and Sir Paul McCartney.

Sir Paul closed the show with a Beatles medley of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End.

The iconic lyrics, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make," served as the perfect sendoff for a night that celebrated not just the show’s history but its impact on comedy, music, and pop culture.

Watch his medley below!

- Bang! Showbiz and republished with edits and permission