Saturday Night Live might be a lot of people’s dream job, but Pete Davidson says the salary isn’t all that great.
In a video commemorating SNL’s 50th anniversary shared via the New York magazine Instagram account on Wednesday, December 4, Davidson, 31, was one of several past and current cast members to reveal what they spent their first SNL paychecks on.
“My biggest indulgence after my first SNL paycheck? Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s, like, three grand an episode,” Davidson, who was on the show from 2014 to 2022, quipped. “I think I got dinner.”
Jason Sudeikis echoed Davidson’s sentiments, noting that SNL cast and crew members “don’t make enough money to make big purchases.” He recalled spending his wages on keeping a roof over his head.
Saturday Night Live has catapulted the careers of many of today’s most popular comedians, including Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey and Adam Sandler. Murphy, for his part, appeared as a cast member from 1980 to 1984. He went on to become a lucrative movie star, but tension between him and the show arose after […]
“I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing my first year on SNL,” said Sudeikis, 49, who was hired as a writer for the sketch comedy show in 2003 and became a main cast member in 2006. He left SNL in 2013.
While SNL might not be the highest-paying gig in the entertainment industry, some cast members and alums do have memories of what they bought after their first payday. Seth Myers purchased a “really big couch” and a “really big TV” while Bowen Yang got Gucci shoes.
SNL will commemorate its 50th anniversary in 2025, beginning with a three-hour live primetime special airing Sunday, February 16, on NBC and Peacock. If 2015’s SNL 40th Anniversary Special is any indication, the new special will feature star-studded performances and appearances from current and past SNL stars. Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West and Paul Simon all performed at the 40th anniversary show.
Saturday Night Live’s stage has played host to icons from Harry Styles to Betty White, and many of its celebrity guests have gushed over reaching the impressive career milestone. “I can’t believe I am hosting Saturday Night Live. I’m not sure many of you know that I’m 88 and a half years old,” White, who […]
The 50th season of SNL kicked off in September. The remaining episodes of 2024 will feature hosts Paul Mescal, Chris Rock and Martin Short and musical guests Shaboozey, Gracie Abrams and Hozier.
SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels previously said that season 50 might be his last, but walked back those comments during a September interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“As long as it’s important and I can be useful, I’ll stay,” Michaels, 80, said. “There are not many network shows left, and this one has taken on [an importance]. It’s more about keeping it on course than anything else, and, obviously, I really love it. And every year there are more and more people that I rely on for other things, but, in the end, you really need someone to say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ So, I don’t really have an answer; I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it. There’s no immediate plan [to leave].”
Weekend Update coanchors Colin Jost and Michael Che told THR that no one in the SNL family is ready for Michaels to retire.
“All the people that are being talked about as possible successors, no one wants him to leave and no one wants to have to follow him,” said Jost, 42.
Che, 41, agreed, saying, “Maybe a lot of it has to do with being a child of divorce, but I don’t want to think about Lorne leaving. … Honestly, I don’t think it could ever be done by one person again. I think it will be a full committee.”
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET.
