What Are SNL’s Late Night Afterparties Really Like? What Amy Poehler Has To Say
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Saturday Night Live kicked off its Season 49 guest host run with Pete Davidson in October, and it'll end with Dua Lipa on May 4th. But SNL's seemingly never-ending legacy will reach new heights in September when it reaches the 50th anniversary of its first episode. Not only have there been 50 seasons of topical sketch comedy, but also 50 years of memorable afterparties, and former SNL star Amy Poehler had plenty to say about them.
After the live filming ends with the cast waving their goodbyes to the audience members, that's when the limos arrive to escort the cast to the rather infamous SNL afterparties. According to what SNL alum Amy Poehler told ET at the CinemaCon 2024 Big Screen Achievement Awards, to call such parties late-night events would be an understatement.
It starts at 1 a.m. I don't know how I did it. And then it's packed and it's crowded, but everybody -- it's kind of like after a game or something, everyone's tired. There are winners and losers and they can rage, at least when I was there. I don't know what it's like now.
Wow! I wonder what the secret is to staying awake for these parties after filming live for a solid chunk of the evening. The loud music, drinks, and dancing likely help liven up the stuff of legends quite a bit, on top of whatever else goes on behind closed doors.
It may have been 15 years since long-running Saturday Night Live cast member $ Amy Poehler gave her official goodbye$ to the sketch comedy series, but it doesn’t mean her time at the legendary afterparties are over. As SNL plans to return for its milestone 50th season in September, the Parks and Recreation actress said she can’t wait to attend the next party, and that she loves still being part of the family with Lorne Michaels and NBC.
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NBCUniversal shared plans to make sure all SNL fans "feel the magic" of the show’s 50th anniversary. With the upcoming season premiere landing in September during a ratings-boosted election year, expect to see a funny Election Special in November, possibly with Amy Poehler busting out her Hillary Clinton attire again, or with Kate McKinnon returning.
Not only will there be several holiday-timed specials hitting NBC to mark SNL's 50th, but the network also has big plans for a docu-series, an SNL cocktail party, several multi-part music specials, and a Radio City Music Hall comedy special in the works. After 50 years of making audiences laugh with beloved SNL sketches, we gotta celebrate this momentous occasion harder than ever before.
With each SNL afterparty, there’s always a story or 20 to tell. For example, a young Olivia Wilde attended one and met SNL legend Chris Farley, who made her laugh by gobbling down brownies in front of her. Then, there was Jimmy Fallon’s insane afterparty story where he MCed a jam involving many famous musicians taking the stage, such as Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Debbie Harry, Michael Bolton, and more.
Kenan Thompson also shared his afterparty story about then-co-star Maya Rudolph perform her heart out with a Prince cover band. Taking all of these wild stories into account, this makes me wonder what’s in store for the 50th anniversary afterparty which I’m sure will be fun times.
From what we gathered from Amy Poehler, SNL afterparties start at one in the morning E.T. with a packed crowd. It proves when you’re on a hit sketch series that’s been around since 1975, the fun never seems to end. Now I wish I had an invite to these parties for some first-hand experience.
Get ready to watch SNL’s season 49 finale on May 4th on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET. Make sure to be there for its 50th anniversary coming in September as part of your 2024 TV schedule.
