The Early Years of SNL: Saturday Night Live's Original Era (Part 2) Artwork

The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

An in-depth journey into the legacy of one of television's most iconic and influential shows - Saturday Night Live. Through deep dives into its most memorable eras, behind-the-scenes stories, and analysis of its evolution, we celebrate and debate all things SNL - the show that has become an institution, defining comedy for over 50 years.

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The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

The Early Years of SNL: Saturday Night Live's Original Era (Part 2)

March 31, 2026 • Two Pints Productions, Inc.

0:00 | 1:38:33

Our look back at Saturday Night Live’s original era has come to an end. We wrap up our final episode of The Early Years of SNL, looking back at all five seasons of the original era. We revisit the journey the show took from a trying-it-out-in-real-time “variety” show (S1) to being a truly experimental and edgy platform (S2), exploding into a cultural juggernaut (S3&4), and eventual fall from grace (S5).

Looking back, we remember some of our favorite hosts, musical guests, special guests, and pre-tapes. Of course, we also call out what we didn’t like. We discuss what surprised us, disappointed us, and highlight our favorite forgotten and underrated sketches (we did a whole episode on best bits).

To bring it all to a close, we select our best and worst episodes of the original era. And, we finally answer the question everyone’s been asking – “What comes next?” Sort of.

Thanks to everyone for listening. “Goodnight, and goodbye.”

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