The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live

In 2025, Saturday Night Live will celebrate an unprecedented 50 years on the air. It is already the longest-running sketch comedy show on television, and much has been written over the years about its storied history. This companion focuses less on behind-the-scenes stories and provides a broader picture of the long-running series. Tropiano (America on Television: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality on Television) and Ginsberg (film and TV writing, Ithaca Coll., L.A.) have assembled an encyclopedic volume of information about the show with details about each season, yearly cast changes, memorable characters and sketches, and illuminating historical insights. Some material in this giant book was previously published by Tropiano in 2013 as “Saturday Night Live” FAQ. The book’s preface notes that the generation gap between those who watched the early days of SNL and today’s audiences only continues to widen. This makes this unofficial guide a fantastic resource for fans of all generations. An extensive appendix that includes the airdate, host, musical guest, and program notes for every episode through the most recent 49th season is handy.