SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night explores aspects of NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show from the perspective of current and former writers, cast and crew, and Bowen Yang opened up about his unique experience as the first full-time Asian-American cast member and one of few identifying as queer.

Last year, fans speculated that there was bad blood between the two stars after noticing an “awkward” interaction during one episode. In January 2024, Chappelle made a surprise appearance on an SNL episode that was hosted by Madame Web star Dakota Johnson with musical guest Justin Timberlake.

The fact that there hadn’t been an East Asian person who couldn’t pass as anyone else and be on camera here, that scared the sh*t out of me. But I think that attitude served me well coming in ‘cause I’m like,

The sketch comedy show is celebrating 50 seasons with two documentaries and an upcoming prime-time special that reflect on its standing as an American institution.

In the final few moments of the Jan. 18 episode, which featured Chappelle hosting the show for the fourth time, several SNL cast members and musical guest GloRilla joined the comedian on stage to bid the audience farewell. During the goodbyes, Chappelle and Yang briefly hugged.

Live cold open saw James Austin Johnson returning as Donald Trump, two days before the inauguration, this time talking about the TikTok ban. About an hour before the show aired, TikTok really did go dark as a new U.

There are books — the best of which is still “ Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live ” — and countless movies, including a 2010 documentary and a 2024 feature, both titled “Saturday Night,” and a slew of comedies derived from popular “SNL” sketches, notably “The Blues Brothers” and “ Wayne’s World .”

In the final few moments of the Jan. 18 episode, which featured Chappelle hosting the show for the fourth time, several SNL cast members and musical guest GloRilla joined the comedian on stage to bid the audience farewell. During the goodbyes, Chappelle and Yang briefly hugged.