Saturday Night Live is nearing its 51st season, which premieres in October amid the 2025 TV schedule. The season comes after the show celebrated its 50th anniversary with a three-hour special that aired earlier this year (and just won a 2025 Emmy). SNL50 was quite a celebration that brought back loads of SNL alumni and plenty of other celebrities. Among those alumni was Adam Sandler, who is now opening up about getting back on stage for the special.
Sandler joined SNL in 1990 as a writer and went on to join the cast the following year. Although he was fired in 1995, he’s occasionally returned to Studio 8H to cameo, and he hosted during Season 44. When Sandler attended SNL50: The Anniversary Special in February, he paid tribute to the show, cast, and those who are no longer here with a special song. The Happy Gilmore 2 star recalled what it was like getting on stage for the live show while chatting with Vulture, and it was just as emotional and nerve-wracking as you’d think:
That was just amazing luck that, for where we were in the show, we happened to have a song that had a sweetness to it. When we were onstage, it was the most surreal feeling to look out and see who was there and feeling that energy. I had that thing that you get sometimes when you do stand-up, or you do a talk show, or whatever, where your mind is kind of talking to yourself while you’re performing.
The comedian was known for his songs on SNL, as he belted out tunes about Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and more. Of course, he also had the Opera Man character, so it was really only fitting that Sandler would do a song for the 50th. Yet being tasked with performing a song that practically encapsulates the entirety of SNL that has both humor and emotion in it could not have been easy. Still, it sounds like everything eventually just clicked in his head, and he was able to do it without a hitch, despite some initial trepidation:
Your brain’s saying, Is your mouth dry? You better get this out. This is a live event. You better cruise through this. I looked back and saw Bulla smiling: He’s having a good time. You better start enjoying this more. And then I kind of clicked in, but I was in space for the beginning, because it was a lot of feelings.
I'm glad Sandler was able to pull through with the performance. Check it out yourself down below:
One of the reasons the song was so emotional was because Sandler named some former cast members who have since passed away. Chris Farley and Norm Macdonald were two of the late icons mentioned in the tune. SNL50 writers previously talked about why Farley references always become emotional when Sandler is involved, and they said it’s because Sandler is authentic and his relationship with Farley shines through.
Of course, the special song wasn’t the only way SNL celebrated its 50th anniversary. The show went all out for the special, with returning cast members, hosts, various musical guests, fan-favorite sketch characters, and a look back at some of SNL’s most iconic moments. The “special 50 years in the making” was as humorous as it was emotional. (It was also stressful, according to former cast member Andy Samberg.)
The stress of the 50th season is over, and even with the cast shakeups for SNL’s 51st season, there's still reason to be excited about the upcoming episodes. It'll surely be tough for the show to top the likes of Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig and others appearing in that all-star special. Still, I trust that the cast and crew are cooking up some funny material.
Saturday Night Live Season 51 hits NBC on October 4 at 11:35 p..m. ET. In the meantime, stream the SNL50 special using a Peacock subscription.
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