On Saturday nights for almost 50 years people have been tuning into Saturday Night Live for laughs, as the NBC sketch comedy show has become a cultural touchstone and a pipeline for some of the most famous comedians of the last half century. But what was it like getting the show to air? That is the focus of the new movie Saturday Night, which is now playing. But how can you watch Saturday Night?
Saturday Night is helping to kick off the golden anniversary of Saturday Night Live, but looks to be more than just an anniversary special. The movie has gotten some pretty good buzz and reviews and has some talking about it as a potential Oscar contender.
You can see that all for yourself right now, and here's how.
How to watch Saturday Night in movie theaters
Saturday Night is exclusively playing in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto movie theaters as of September 27, just one day before the Saturday Night Live season 50 premiere. The movie will continue to expand in the coming weeks, releasing in more US theaters on October 4 before playing everywhere nationwide on October 11 (49 years to the day of the first SNL episode).
For UK audiences, Saturday Night is not expected to premiere until January 2025.
If you want to see if Saturday Night is playing in your area, you can visit the Saturday Night movie website or Fandango, either of which will show you where and when the movie is playing near you, as well as allowing you to purchase tickets for it directly online.
Another way to not only see if and where Saturday Night is playing near you but also to potentially save some money on the movie ticket is with movie theater subscription and membership programs. Offered by various US and UK movie theater chains, these programs allow for moviegoers to get free, discounted or an allotment of movie tickets every month, as well as deals on concessions and other perks.
Is Saturday Night streaming?
No, you cannot stream Saturday Night right now, nor can you watch it at home via digital on-demand. It is only playing in movie theaters right now.
We don't have any information on when Saturday Night is going to be available for streaming or on-demand, but we'll update this post as any information related to that becomes available.
What else to know about Saturday Night
Directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan, Saturday Night depicts the chaos that was the 90 minutes before Saturday Night (as it was then known) made its broadcast debut. Here is the official synopsis:
"At 11:30 pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television — and culture — forever. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, chaos and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn't, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…"
The ensemble cast is led by Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, but also includes Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys and J.K. Simmons.
As of publication, Saturday Night is rated "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 77%. What to Watch plans to have a review for the movie available before its October 4 expansion.
Get a preview of Saturday Night by watching the trailer directly below:
