Saturday Night Ending Explained

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The ending of Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night movie ends exactly as it should with Chevy Chase exclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” Saturday Night has one of the most stacked ensemble casts of 2024, including plenty of young star actors such as Gabriel LaBelle (The Fablemans), Rachel Sennott (Bottoms), Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner), and Emmy winners (The Americans), Nicholas Braun (Succession), and Lamorne Morris (Fargo). Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and 4-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things) round out the talented ensemble in Saturday Night.

Saturday Night opened in theaters in 2024, and it chronicles the true story events in the 90 minutes before the premiere of the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC, which happened at 11:30 PM on October 11, 1975. Although Reitman’s depiction tends to deviate from factual accounts for the sake of entertainment and story cohesion, Saturday Night captures the chaos of the night and the steadfast vision of Lorne Michaels.

Dave Tebet’s Last-Minute Decision To Go Live Explained

Tebet Tested Michaels’ Determination & Believed In The Product

Willem Dafoe as Dave Tebet in Saturday Night

Dave Tebet acts as a force of motivation and fear throughout Saturday Night as the man who has the power to crush Lorne Michaels’ vision. Based on the real-life former VP of Talent Relations at NBC, Tebet is part of the group of NBC executives who expect Saturday Night to fail in order to send a message to Johnny Carson about airing re-runs of his acclaimed Tonight Show.

Tebet tells Michaels when he first meets him that he is impressed by his talent and vision and to not let anyone, even him, get in his way of making his dream a reality. This is ultimately exactly what Lorne Michaels does minutes before air, which is why Tebet greenlights the show seconds before going live. In reality, it was Michaels who insisted on having a backup program in case the show went sideways.

How Andy Kaufman & Garrett Morris Proved Lorne’s Vision Of The Show

Kaufman’s Classic “Mighty Mouse” Skit Saved The Day

Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman in Saturday Night

In the moments before Saturday Night is set to go live for the first time, Tebet tells Michaels to show him what the show is. Throughout the film, Michaels has a hard time explaining exactly what the show is, since there is no official plot or clear way to market it. Michales does his best to explain the concept of the series and what it represents to the time and place of the present moment in 1975 New York City.

He tells Tebet that Saturday Night “is an all-nighter in the city. It’s everything you think is going to happen when you move to New York.” This helps establish the spirit of the series but Tebet remained in the dark about what would actually be put on camera. That is until Garrett Morris spontaneously sings an explicit parody song and Andy Kaufman does his iconic “Mighty Mouse” skit, which even had the group on NBC execs chuckling. Seeing the comedic talents in action and the laughing crowds, Tebet finally gets Michaels’ vision.

Why John Belushi Was Ice Skating 20 Minutes Before The Premiere

Belushi Wanted To See If Michaels Would Stop Him From Doing What He Wanted To Do

Matt Wood as John Belushi in Saturday Night

Belushi is portrayed as being the most wild and unpredictable cast member in Saturday Night’s first episode, which is certainly saying something. After a series of violent and rebellious actions in the 90 minutes leading up to the SNL premiere, he finally pulls through for Michaels when he shows up in the iconic first skit “The Wolverine” with head writer Michael O’Donaghue.

In a fabricated scene that was completely made up for the film, Belushi is seen ice skating in Rockefeller Center wearing a bumblebee costume for an upcoming skit. Belushi says he’s going to attempt a triple axel and falls flat on his face, which sends a worried Michaels rushing onto the ice. It appears that this was the fictional Beluchi’s way of testing Michaels, determining how authoritative he was going to be of him. After Michaels supported his decision to try the triple axel, Belushi was on board.

How Lorne & Rosie Convinced Belushi To Sign His Contract

Belushi Finally Gives His Trust To Lorne & The Show

Lorne and Rosie Michaels try to convince Belushi to sign his NBC contract in the 90 minutes leading up to the series premiere. Belushi comes off as extremely anti-establishment and doesn’t trust NBC or the executives who require him to shave his face before appearing in Saturday Night. It’s reaffirmed throughout Saturday Night that NBC has a strict vision of the type of content they put on television, which they aptly call “The Peacock Way.”

Michaels has a very down-to-earth and hands-off approach with many of his cast members in the film. Once Belushi realizes this, he develops a stronger trust in Lorne’s vision/ Lorne is aided by his wife, Rosie, who connects with Belushi on a more personal level.

Why Rosie Chose Shuster Over Michaels For Her Credit

Rosie Was A Well-Known Comedy Figure In Her Own Right

Rachel Sennott and Gabriel LaBelle in Saturday Night

Lorne Michaels is asked throughout Saturday Night what Rosie’s credit should be at the end of the show. Although Lorne and Rosie are married, they reach an understanding that they aren’t romantically in love with each other but still care about each other very deeply. When it came to crunch time right before the show went to air, both Rosie and Lorne said that Rosie should use her original surname, Shuster, for the credits.

In reality, Rosie was credited as Rosie Michaels in the actual episode. In the context of the film, it demonstrated that Lorne respected Rosie’s status as an individual and talented creator in her own right. Rosie was also having an open affair with Dan Aykroyd, which didn’t seem to affect Michaels very much in the film.

How The Cold Open In “The Wolverines” Sketch Started A Legacy

The SNL Cold Open Is As Classic As Its Weekend Update Segment

Tommy Dewey as Michael O'Donoghue in Saturday Night

The Saturday Night Live tradition of beginning each episode with a cold open began with the very first episode, as reenacted in the Saturday Night movie. “The Wolverines” was a brief sketch that began with John Belushi walking down a set of prop stairs and speaking with his language teacher, played by head writer Michael O’Donaghue.

This cold open began with nearly 15 seconds of silence or “dead air” which gave the show an intentional sense of being unpolished and gritty, adding to the late-night feel Michaels was going for. While the SNL cold open has evolved over the years and often has a political focus nowadays, the legendary segment has structurally remained the same for 50 seasons.

The Real Meaning Of Saturday Night’s Ending

Saturday Night Live Was Born From A Daring & Improbable Creative Spark

The entirety of Saturday Night captures lightning in a bottle as production and interpersonal issues pile up by the dozen. As the film unfolds, a seemingly endless amount of problems arise, which eventually brings Lorne Michaels to a boiling point. What he does not do, however, is give up, as he and his talented cast and crew are able to pull off the series just in the nick of time.

Saturday Night Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play

Saturday Night features an original score from Grammy & Oscar winner Jon Batiste and reenacts live guest perfomances by Janis Ian & Billy Preston.

While the film sensationalizes and exaggerates the timing of things to raise stakes and tension, Saturday Night encapsulates the frantic and brief turnaround process that the series has endured for the past 50 seasons. Most importantly, it portrays a million ways that Saturday Night Live could have been a disaster before it started. Looking back on the series’ origins, Saturday Night drives home how impressive and improbable it is that the series has been around for so long as a staple of modern television, which is a testament to Lorne Michaels.

How The Saturday Night Ending Was Received

The Movie Was Highly Praised

Both critics and audiences loved Saturday Night, with its Rotten Tomatoes score “Certified Fresh” at 78% and the audience Popcornmeter score an even higher 84%. One of the overwhelmingly positive reviews by audience members on Rotten Tomatoes reads, “An amusing and intelligent ride from start to finish. Great acting and the anxiety of getting the first episode of SNL on the air was a comedic adventure. Excellent movie!” This was mostly the normal review for fans of the film.

The top critics were also pleased with the final result and what Saturday Night did while telling an entertaining story, even if not all true to life. Matt Singer of Screen Crush wrote:

“Reitman clearly made this film from a place of love and admiration for the institution of SNL and the people, then and now, who produce it. He might get the facts wrong at times; what he gets right is the feeling that every fan who grows up watching SNL imagines the show is like behind the scenes — giddy and chaotic and brimming with passionate creativity.”:

There was also a Reddit thread full of fans who loved what they saw in the movie. Redditor @cutandcover wrote, “This film, regardless of any questions of authenticity, freaking rules. The energy is nonstop and the excitement of the thing never lets up.” There was another who said they were very happy with where Saturday Night ended, writing, “I was begging them to end it on that note, and it delivered. The credits were also awesome as well.“