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How does an episode of Saturday Night Live get made? That is a question worth interrogating, as the iconic sketch show has been running steadily for 50 seasons. The NBC show is such an institution that we take it for granted. Recently released in theaters, Jason Reitman‘s intense docu-drama, Saturday Night, dramatizes the chaotic behind-the-scenes madness behind SNL‘s inaugural episode on October 11, 1975. The new film promises an unsanitized look at the drama behind one of the seminal moments in American pop culture. However, if you’re craving an honest, cinéma vérité examination of how an SNL episode makes it air, Saturday Night, the narrative film, doesn’t hold a candle to Saturday Night, the 2014 documentary, which grounds the creative process of sketch series and makes the enterprise inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza all the more admirable.
‘Saturday Night’ Captures a Storied Cast Before Becoming Major Stars
In 2008, James Franco went behind the camera to explore the professional environment and behind-the-curtains dynamics of Studio 8H during one week of production. However, the legacy of Saturday Night cannot be discussed without acknowledging the sexual misconduct allegations against Franco.
Saturday Night plays like a video diary chronicling the pitching, writing, and rehearsals of a rudimentary episode in Season 34 hosted by John Malkovich. The documentary originated as a grad school assignment for Franco while attending NYU’s film school. What began as a 7-minute video following Bill Hader‘s footsteps evolved into a 90-minute documentary outlining the entire creative process of SNL. He received permission to observe all parties, including the often inscrutable Lorne Michaels. However, Franco struggled to obtain permission from NBC to release the film, leading to Saturday Night being shelved for four years after premiering at South by Southwest in 2010.
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Saturday Night unexpectedly became an intriguing time capsule. By the time it was released to the public in 2014, many of the observed cast members and writers, including Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, and John Mulaney, had left the show. Watching the film after sitting on the shelf for six years makes for an interesting viewing, as all the talent depicted and developed storied careers in film and television. The film takes us through each day leading up to the big night, from the pitch session on Monday with showrunner Lorne Michaels to the live performance on Saturday night, shown from behind the stage and the control room. Production of the episode (and presumably all others as well) operates like a well-oiled machine, but last-minute rehearsals and revisions are prevalent. Jason Reitman’s 2024 film also taps into the sensation of constantly being at the 11th hour.
The Fly-on-the-Wall Nature of ‘Saturday Night’ Shows the Grind of Producing One Show
While Jason Reitman’s 2024 Saturday Night gives a frantic, fast-paced recreation of how an episode of SNL unfolds, the 2014 documentary, with its close-up camera work intermittently presented in black-and-white, plays like an underground experimental film. The documentary makes the viewer feel like a fly on the wall while observing these eccentric performers work tirelessly to unlock the precise rhythms and beats of their sketches. Inside the walls of the writers’ rooms, table reading, and rehearsals are settings resembling an everyday 9-to-5 job. With deadlines always looming, the cast, writers, and technical production team are always grinding. While everything leading up to 11:30 P.M. EST on Saturday is primarily laborious, each cast member expresses an unfettered comedic passion when pitching concepts and riffing with their co-stars. Listening in on the writers deliberating on one specific word choice in a line of dialogue magnifies the unglamorous but rewarding creative process. Iconic sketches have humble roots, so humble that they emerge from collaborators and friends goofing around on a Monday night. What’s most striking about their brainstorming is its naturalism. Conceiving characters and voices is muscle memory for comedic geniuses like Hader and Samberg.
Even if Saturday Night Live has a foolproof system when selecting sketches and designing sets, uncertainty lingers throughout the week. As structured as the logistical components are, the creative process is spontaneous and uber-specific to the sensibilities of its talent. No one, not even Lorne Michaels, has any idea how the audience will respond to these peculiar sketches. A show this freewheeling has no business lasting this long, but, according to Michaels in the movie, it’s, in fact, the dynamic nature of the show that keeps it running. “There’s always new people every year,” the SNL creator stated. “What people lack in experience, they make up for in enthusiasm and excitement and a new way of looking at things,” Michaels said. For comedy stars, SNL is the best form of higher education, and the college-like atmosphere and independence are integral to its success as a maverick enterprise that somehow crept into the mainstream.
At 11:30 PM on October 11, 1975, a group of young comedians and writers changed television history. The film, directed by Jason Reitman, captures the chaos and creativity behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live,” highlighting the birth of an iconic show.
- Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Director
- Jason Reitman
Saturday Night is currently not available to stream in the U.S.
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