The clock is ticking—literally. It’s 10 p.m. on October 11, 1975, and the tension is palpable. Jason Reitman’s biopic, ‘Saturday Night,’ has just released its first trailer, offering a glimpse into the frantic 90 minutes leading up to the very first episode of ‘Saturday Night Live.’
The film, premiering exactly 49 years after that historic broadcast, features an ensemble cast including Gabriel LaBelle as a young Lorne Michaels, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, and Willem Dafoe as NBC executive David Tebet. The trailer captures the raw energy and chaos that defined the birth of the now-iconic show.
Watch the trailer below.
The trailer opens with Finn Wolfhard’s character, an NBC page, desperately trying to give away tickets to the first taping. LaBelle enters as a frantic Lorne Michaels, trying to convince security to let him into 30 Rock. “Look, my name is Lorne Michaels, I’m the producer of ‘Saturday Night,’” he pleads. The security guard’s deadpan response, “The whole night?” sets the tone for the rollercoaster that follows.
Inside Studio 8H, the legendary Don Pardo, voiced by J.K. Simmons, struggles to pronounce Dan Aykroyd’s name during a rehearsal. Tension builds between Michaels and NBC exec Dick Ebersol, played by Cooper Hoffman, as they debate whether the show should even go on. “We’re just not ready,” Ebersol argues, but Michaels insists, “It doesn’t matter that we’re ready, it matters that it’s 11:30. That’s when we go on.”
The trailer reveals the mounting chaos: Dafoe’s David Tebet criticizes Michaels for not having a finished script and for a crew “in open rebellion.” Nicholas Braun, portraying Jim Henson, deadpans about Big Bird being hung from his dressing room door to an uninterested, cigaratte smoking Garrett Morris (portrayed by Lamorne Morrris).
As the clock ticks down, scenes of madness unfold: Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) share a wild backstage moment, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) trips over his feet, and John Belushi (Matt Wood) clashes physically with Chase. The studio itself seems on the verge of collapse, with bricks crashing, scripts burning, and lights falling.
Ebersol’s chilling line, “They want you to fail,” looms large, but Michaels remains resolute: “We just have to make it to air.”
‘Saturday Night’ doesn’t just focus on Michaels; it also offers glimpses of ‘SNL’ legends like Dylan O’Brien’s Aykroyd and Ella Hunt’s Radner. Jon Batiste, who composed the film’s score, shines as musical guest Billy Preston.
The film’s star-studded cast also includes Rachel Sennott, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, and Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, all bringing their characters to life in a way that honors the history they’re portraying.
If the trailer is any indication, this film will be a must-watch for fans eager to see the story behind one of television’s most iconic shows.
Watch the trailer above and get ready for a wild ride through the birth of ‘Saturday Night Live.’