Live from New York, it’s the first Saturday night! A trailer for Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” has been released, and it’s a tense look at the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the first “SNL” broadcast. Reitman and Gil Kenan wrote the script together.
In the trailer for the film, we see Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels, played by Gabriel LaBelle, doing his best to get the show off the ground. But things don’t seem to be going well. Unpredictable cast members and annoying studio executives stand in his way. At one point, Michaels excitedly exclaims, “NBC is lucky enough to have a show as important as this!”
The first episode of “SNL” aired on October 11, 1975. The episode was hosted by comedian George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Also appearing on the episode were Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue, and Gilda Radner. George Coe, who did not appear as a cast member again, also appeared on the show’s first episode.
Dick Ebersol developed the show and hired Michaels as a producer. Michaels continues to produce the show, and the 50th season of “SNL” is scheduled to air in the fall.
In addition to Labelle, the film’s cast includes Dylan O’Brien (Aykroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chase), Rachel Sennott (Rosie Schuster), Lamorne Morris (Maurice), Nicholas Braun (Jim Henson), Finn Wolfhard (NBC Page), Jon Batiste (Preston), Ella Hunt (Radnor), Cooper Hoffman (Ebersole), Andrew Barth Feldman (Neil Levy), Naomi MacPherson (Ian), Willem Dafoe (David Tippett), J.K. Simmons (Milton Berle), and Kaia Gerber (Jacqueline Carlin), among others.
“Saturday Night” is scheduled to be released in theaters on October 11, 2024, from Sony Pictures. Watch the trailer below.
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