NEW YORK (AP) — The 50th anniversary celebration of “Saturday Night Live” is so big, it's not even on Saturday.
Airing Sunday and spanning three hours, the, yes, live “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” will assemble a dream team of stars who have helped the show become an enduring pop culture force, including alumni like Tina Fey and Eddie Murphy, notable hosts like Dave Chappelle and Steve Martin and at least four of the surviving original cast members: Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.
The show will also pack in musical guests, with Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Miley Cyrus among those scheduled to appear, as well. The special is double the usual 90 minutes of each “SNL” episode.
With so much television and comedy history to cover, here are some key things to know about the “SNL50” show.
NBC will air “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” on Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific.
The anniversary show will also stream on Peacock.
Oh, so many. NBC says in addition to Murphy, Fey and some of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, you can expect: Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and Will Forte. Current cast member Kenan Thompson's appearance was also touted.
Martin, who has left an indelible comedic mark on “SNL” over the years, will be among the many successful hosts returning for the show's 50th celebration.
Other prolific and returning hosts range from actors like Tom Hanks, Martin Short, and Scarlett Johansson (who is married to current “SNL” cast member Colin Jost) to athletes like Peyton Manning. Former “SNL” writer John Mulaney will appear, as will Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Kim Kardashian, Paul Simon, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro and Woody Harrelson.
No, the show is on a break this week. Timothée Chalamet hosted the most recent “Saturday Night Live” broadcast, on Jan. 25. He did double duty, performing Bob Dylan songs — Chalamet plays Dylan in the Oscar-nominated film “A Complete Unknown” and spent years preparing for the role.
But fans tuning in Saturday night during the regular time slot can see the show's very first episode, from October 1975 and hosted by George Carlin, beginning at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and 8:30 p.m. Pacific.
Music is a huge part of “SNL” and a mix of global artists are scheduled to make an appearance on “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration.” It’s important to note that NBC hasn’t specifically said artists like McCartney, Cyrus, Bad Bunny and others will perform.
Lovers of music on “SNL” have other chances to celebrate. NBC has scheduled “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” for Friday night. It'll stream live on Peacock, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific.
The Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Jack White, Cyrus, Robyn, Bonnie Raitt are some of the planned performances.
The musical legacy of “SNL” is also explored in the documentary “Ladies and Gentlemen ... 50 Years of SNL Music,” from Oscar-winner Questlove. It's currently streaming on Peacock.
“Watching ‘SNL’ those first seasons gave me a musical vocabulary that I don’t think would have happened on its own,” he told The Associated Press last month before the special aired.
The first “Saturday Night Live” cast was known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players and consisted of Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Jane Curtin.
Radner and Belushi have since died. Aykroyd's absence from the list of returning cast members was unclear, though he posted enthusiastically about the 50th anniversary on social media last week. Aykroyd's publicist did not return the AP's request for comment.
As part of its anniversary celebration, Peacock is streaming a four-part documentary series, “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” about the show.
It's fitting that the anniversary special falls smack in the middle of awards season, because it definitely sounds like an awards show — three hours, on a Sunday ... and with a red carpet, to boot.
“SNL50: The Red Carpet” will air live on NBC, Peacock and E!, the network announced Thursday. Beginning at 7 p.m Eastern, the carpet show will be hosted by “SNL” alum Leslie Jones and NBC News' Willie Geist. Matt Rogers, an actor and comedian who co-hosts the podcast “Las Culturistas” with “SNL” cast member Bowen Yang, will serve as a correspondent.
Amelia Dimoldenberg of “Chicken Shop Date” fame — no stranger to red-carpet correspondency — will report from the red carpet for the “SNL50: Red Carpet Livestream” on “SNL” social and digital platforms.
This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Bad Bunny, Quinta Brunson, Sabrina Carpenter, Dave Chappelle, Miley Cyrus, Robert De Niro, second row from left, Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Scarlett Johansson, Peyton Manning, and bottom row from left, Steve Martin, Paul McCartney, John Mulaney, Pedro Pascal, Martin Short and Paul Simon. (AP Photo)
This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, bottom row from left, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Adam Sandler. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared on Monday to be emboldening defenders of the U.S. central bank, who pushed back against President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert more control over the Fed.
The backlash reflected the overarching stakes in determining the balance of power within the federal government and the path of the U.S. economy at a time of uncertainty about inflation and a slowing job market. This has created a sense among some Republican lawmakers and leading economists that the Trump administration had overstepped the Fed's independence by sending subpoenas.
The criminal investigation — a first for a sitting Fed chair — sparked an unusually robust response from Powell and a full-throated defense from three former Fed chairs, a group of top economic officials and even Republican senators tasked with voting on Trump's eventual pick to replace Powell as Fed chair when his term expires in May.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump did not direct his Justice Department to investigate Powell, who has proven to be a foil for Trump by insisting on setting the Fed's benchmark interest rates based on the data instead of the president's wishes.
“One thing for sure, the president’s made it quite clear, is Jerome Powell is bad at his job,” Leavitt said. “As for whether or not Jerome Powell is a criminal, that’s an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out.”
The investigation demonstrates the lengths the Trump administration is willing to go to try to assert control over the Fed, an independent agency that the president believes should follow his claims that inflationary pressures have faded enough for drastic rate cuts to occur. Trump has repeatedly used investigations — which might or might not lead to an actual indictment — to attack his political rivals.
The risks go far beyond Washington infighting to whether people can find work or afford their groceries. If the Fed errs in setting rates, inflation could surge or job losses could mount. Trump maintains that an economic boom is occurring and rates should be cut to pump more money into the economy, while Powell has taken a more cautious approach in the wake of Trump's tariffs.
Several Republican senators have condemned the Department of Justice's subpoenas of the Fed, which Powell revealed Sunday and characterized as “pretexts” to pressure him to sharply cut interest rates. Powell also said the Justice Department has threatened criminal indictments over his June testimony to Congress about the cost and design elements of a $2.5 billion building renovation that includes the Fed's headquarters.
“After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Monday.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said on social media that the Fed “ignored” her office’s outreach to discuss the renovation cost overruns, “necessitating the use of legal process — which is not a threat.”
“The word ‘indictment’ has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s,” Pirro posted on X, although the subpoenas and the White House’s own statement about determining Powell's criminality would suggest the risk of an indictment.
A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists on Monday called the Trump administration's investigation “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks" to undermine the Fed's independence, stressing that central banks controlled by political leaders tend to produce higher inflation and lower growth.
“I think this is ham-handed, counter-productive, and going to set back the president’s cause,” said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and former top adviser to President Barack Obama. The investigation could also unify the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee in support of Powell, and means “the next Fed chair will be under more pressure to prove their independence.”
The subpoenas apply to Powell's statements before a congressional committee about the renovation of Fed buildings, including its marble-clad headquarters in Washington, D.C. They come at an unusual moment when Trump was teasing the likelihood of announcing his nominee this month to succeed Powell as the Fed chair and could possibly be self-defeating for the nomination process.
While Powell's term as chair ends in four months, he has a separate term as a Fed governor until January 2028, meaning that he could remain on the board. If Powell stays on the board, Trump could be blocked from appointing an outside candidate of his choice to be the chair.
Powell quickly found a growing number of defenders among Republicans in the Senate, who will have the choice of whether to confirm Trump's planned pick for Fed chair.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Banking panel, said late Sunday that he would oppose any of the Trump administration’s Fed nominees until the investigation is "resolved."
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis said.
Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn, said the Fed may have wasted public dollars with its renovation, but he said, “I do not think Chairman Powell is guilty of criminal activity.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered a brief but stern response Monday about the tariffs as he arrived at the U.S. Capitol, suggesting that the administration needed “serious” evidence of wrongdoing to take such a significant step.
“I haven’t seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are, but I would say they better, they better be real and they better be serious,” said Thune, a Republican representing South Dakota.
If Powell stays on the board after his term as chair ends, the Trump administration would be deprived of the chance to fill another seat that would give the administration a majority on the seven-member board. That majority could then enact significant reforms at the Fed and even block the appointment of presidents at the Fed's 12 regional banks.
“They could do a lot of reorganizing and reforms” without having to pass new legislation, said Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital and author of a book on Fed independence. “That seat is very valuable.”
Powell has declined at several press conferences to answer questions about his plans to stay or leave the board.
Scott Alvarez, former general counsel at the Fed, says the investigation is intended to intimidate Powell from staying on the board. The probe is occurring now “to say to Chair Powell, ’We’ll use every mechanism that the administration has to make your life miserable unless you leave the Board in May,'" Alvarez said.
Asked on Monday by reporters if Powell planned to remain a Fed governor, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council and a leading candidate to become Fed chair, said he was unaware of Powell’s plans.
“I’ve not talked to Jay about that,” Hassett said.
A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists said in their Monday letter that the administration’s legal actions and the possible loss of Fed independence could hurt the broader economy.
“This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by former Fed chairs Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Alan Greenspan, as well as former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin.
Still, Trump's pressure campaign had been building for some time, with him relentlessly criticizing and belittling Powell.
He even appeared to preview the shocking news of the subpoenas at a Dec. 29 news conference by saying he would bring a lawsuit against Powell over the renovation costs.
“He’s just a very incompetent man,” Trump said. “But we’re going to probably bring a lawsuit against him.”
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AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, right, and President Donald Trump look over a document of cost figures during a visit to the Federal Reserve, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
