Here’s a thing Saturday Night Live is doing for the very first time–airing live in all four continental time zones. Considering network Saturday night TV schedules are typically full of repeats and burn-offs, it’s really something that NBC has never aired live across the country before.
The last four shows of the season will be aired live across 4 time zones and will feature heavy hitters Jimmy Fallon, Chris Pine, Melissa McCarthy (SPICEY!!!) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as hosts. I am particularly looking forward to Melissa McCarthy hosting. Fingers crossed Trump doesn’t fire Sean Spicer before the end of the television season.
Read more below:
For the first time in its storied history, NBC’s iconic late-night franchise Saturday Night Live, which is delivering its most-watched season in 24 years, will be broadcast live simultaneously across the country for its final four shows of the season — April 15, May 6, 13 and 20.
“SNL — enjoying its most popular season in two decades — is part of the national conversation, and we thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the west and mountain time zones live at the same time it’s being seen in the east and central time zones,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “That way, everyone is in on the joke at the same time. Kudos to Lorne Michaels, the producers and cast for making SNL one of the most relevant and anticipated shows in the zeitgeist.”
Each episode will air live at:
- 11:30 p.m. Eastern
- 10:30 p.m. Central
- 9:30 p.m. Mountain
- 8:30 p.m. Pacific
For the Mountain and Pacific time zones, “SNL” will be repeated at 11:30 p.m.
The hosts for these shows are as follows:
- April 15 – Jimmy Fallon
- May 6 – Chris Pine
- May 13 – Melissa McCarthy
- May 20 – Dwayne Johnson
The musical guests for these shows will be announced at a later date.
The show has garnered high praise from critics this season, including acclaim for the work of Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway, Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer.
