OK, I’ll admit it. I enjoy “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). Unfortunately, this opinion has become progressively less popular over the last 50 years since the show’s debut in 1975. As the show has changed and the creators’ focus has shifted to social media, people have stopped watching. What I think people don’t see, though, is that “Saturday Night Live” is a one-of-a-kind show and a long-standing marker of American culture while still being a beacon for the future of comedy.
SNL is a sketch comedy variety show that has a different celebrity host and musical guest each episode. The show also has on-staff cast members and writers who develop the sketches week to week. Although SNL is one of the longest-running shows in the U.S, the sketches stay relevant. They always feature political and news satire, as well as pop culture references, which keep the show fresh.
I’ve known about SNL since my earliest forays on the internet. While I was in elementary school, I remember watching now-classic SNL sketches with Andy Samberg and Aidy Bryant on YouTube, and laughing out loud. As social media grew, I began to see clips of the show on my TikTok feed. But only in the past couple of months have I begun to watch the show in its entirety, and I’ve come to love it.
The show is truly unique. Sure, there are other sketch comedy shows, but none have the same large-scale, weekly turnaround. Although sketch comedy production has declined over the past decade, SNL has continued to thrive. The show even maintains its weekly live studio audience, keeping it grounded in its roots.
That authenticity also comes through in the cast. Throughout its run, SNL has been the “big break” for some of the most prolific voices in comedy today. For Tina Fey, Adam Sandler and so many others, SNL launched their incredible careers in comedy.
Seeing new comedians make it to that big stage and develop their talents, like Jeremy Culhane, is one of my favorite parts of the show. With the revolving door of talents and sets, SNL serves as a reflection of what’s important moment-by-moment in American culture. I love seeing the biggest headlines and most viral memes of the week adapted into a sketch.
When topics make it to the writers’ room, that signals a level of cultural significance. Whether it be through the show’s politically-charged cold opens or niche references on “Weekend Update,” SNL allows the audience to engage with topical ideas through comedy rather than often stressful news coverage.
Look, I understand that to many people, “Saturday Night Live” is not funny. Or not funny anymore. Or too political. Or not political enough. I get it, but I think that ebb and flow is what makes the show. Because of the format, cast members can try ideas out — things that may or may not work — but they always show the love, skill and care that goes into each sketch. Every comedy show will have jokes that fall a little flat, but that’s no reason to ignore the crucial niche the show occupies.
Although SNL’s viewership is dipping, clips from the show often reach success on social media. Last season, SNL posted a clip of the sketch “Bridesmaid Speech” on TikTok, and it immediately went viral. The post has almost 12 million likes to date, and TikTok users have used the audio over 15,000 times. There is clearly an audience for SNL, but viewers want the show to meet them where they’re at.
I enjoy a lot of laughs every SNL episode, no matter the cast, the host or the musical guest. Rather than focusing on the show’s lows, I watch to get a different look at the broader picture. It doesn’t need to be the SNL of the past; it works as a reflection of right now.
*This column was updated Feb. 11, 2026.
