Sarah Jessica Parker has shared a behind-the-scenes look at Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special.
The And Just Like That… star attended the SNL 50 gala with husband Matthew Broderick on Sunday, February 16, in New York City. The couple were invited as former SNL guest hosts, with Parker having appeared in season 20 and Broderick guest starring twice before in seasons 14 and 23.
Parker subsequently shared video footage she’d shot from the balcony overlooking “home base” at Studio 8H, where dozens of former SNL hosts and cast members gathered to pay tribute to producer Lorne Michaels at the end of the special.
Martin Short can be seen in Parker’s footage saluting Michaels’ 50 years of contributions to comedy, as the likes of Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Molly Shannon, Steve Martin and Tracy Morgan mill around the stage behind them. Robert De Niro and legendary talk show host David Letterman are shown seated in a row in front of Parker and Broderick as well.
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Alongside the video, Parker wrote via Instagram: “SNL 50th anniversary. Soup to nuts, a thrilling night. Matthew and I [were] so honored to sit in Studio 8H and recall its 50 glorious years. Brilliant Lorne Michaels!! Perfectly done. Thank you for including us.”
Parker’s Saturday Night Live season 20 hosting stint came during a particularly troubled period for the show, where it was routinely being attacked by critics for its raunchy content.
The future Sex and the City actress’ appearance on the November 12, 1994, episode came together at a relatively late moment, as Juliette Lewis was originally supposed to host but dropped out.
Broderick’s first hosting stint on October 15, 1988, was most notable for the notorious nude beach sketch, written by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel, where the word “penis” was said 43 times on air. The controversial scene involved Broderick being questioned about his anatomy by fellow nude beach attendees Kevin Nealon and Dennis Miller.
O’Brien revealed on his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” in 2024 that the nude beach sketch caused a huge battle with NBC censors.
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“[The censors] just said, ‘There’s no way you can do this,’” the 2025 Oscars host recalled. “We were arguing that it’s part of the anatomy, you should be able to say ‘penis.’ Of course, now, it seems like the most tame thing in the world.”
Parker avoided a potentially awkward run-in at SNL 50 with ex-boyfriend Robert Downey Jr., who was a no-show at the NBC special despite being a Saturday Night Live cast member in season 11.
Parker was dating Downey during his time on SNL, and they were together for seven years in total. The actress was by Downey’s side during his well-documented substance abuse issues, before finally splitting in 1991.
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Parker went on to briefly date John F. Kennedy Jr. and then married Broderick in a 1997 ceremony officiated by the actor’s sister Rev. Janet Broderick Kraft in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The couple have three children: son James Wilkie, 22, and twin daughters Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta Elwell, 13.
Saturday Night Live returns on NBC and Peacock March 1 with an all-new season 50 episode at 11:30 p.m. ET.
