It was barely television. Honestly, if you go back and watch the very first episode of the Saturday Night Live 1st season, it feels less like the polished institution we know today and more like a high-stakes hostage situation involving Muppets, George Carlin, and a lot of very nervous young people. On October 11, 1975, NBC didn't really know what they had. They just knew they needed something to fill the slot because Johnny Carson wanted his Tonight Show reruns moved to the weekdays.
Lorne Michaels was thirty. He was this ambitious Canadian guy with a vision for a "New York" show that didn't feel like the stale, tuxedo-clad variety hours coming out of Burbank. He wanted it to be dangerous. He wanted it to be live—obviously. But the Saturday Night Live 1st season (originally called NBC's Saturday Night) wasn't an immediate home run of sketch comedy. It was a messy, experimental collage of short films, musical guests, stand-up sets, and weirdly enough, Jim Henson’s puppets.
Those puppets? They were a disaster. The cast hated them. The writers hated them. Michael O'Donoghue, the show’s first head writer and a man known for a specific kind of dark, nihilistic humor, famously refused to write for them, saying he didn't write for "felt."
The "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" and the Birth of the Cool
Most people think the show was a hit because of the sketches. Not really. At least, not at first. The magic was in the personalities. You had this group called the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players," and they looked like the people watching the show. They didn't look like television stars. Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, and Garrett Morris. That was the core.
Chevy Chase was the first breakout. He was the one who did the "Fall of the Week," mimicking Gerald Ford's clumsiness. It’s wild to think about now, but Chevy was only on the show for about a season and a bit. He became the face of the Saturday Night Live 1st season because of "Weekend Update." He had this smug, deadpan delivery that felt entirely new. When he said, "I'm Chevy Chase... and you're not," it wasn't just a catchphrase. It was a declaration of a new kind of comedy ego.
But while Chevy was the star, John Belushi was the soul. Or maybe the id. Belushi didn't even want to do the show at first. He hated television. He thought it was "brain-rotting." Lorne Michaels had to practically beg him to join. In those early episodes, Belushi was often relegated to the background or playing bit parts until the "Samurai" character and his impression of Joe Cocker proved he was a force of nature.
The Muppet Problem and the Evolution of the Format
If you look at the structure of the Saturday Night Live 1st season, it’s unrecognizable to modern fans. There were often two musical guests. Sometimes there were three. In the first episode, Billy Preston and Janis Ian both performed. There were also these "Home Movies" by Albert Brooks.
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The show was trying to be a variety show for people who hated variety shows.
The Muppets—specifically a segment called The Land of Gorch—were a contractual obligation. They were weird, craggy, adult-themed puppets that lived in a swamp and talked about sex and drugs. It didn't work. The writers would literally draw straws to see who had to write the Muppet sketch. By the end of the first season, the puppets were gone, and the show leaned harder into the cast’s chemistry.
The Sketches That Actually Stuck
What really resonates when you revisit the Saturday Night Live 1st season is how many tropes were established in just those first few months. "Weekend Update" is the obvious one, but think about the "Killer Bees." The cast hated the bee costumes. They thought the bit was stupid. But they kept doing it because it was so absurd. It became a meta-joke about the show’s own struggle to find its identity.
Then you had the "Word Association" sketch with Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase. It’s arguably one of the most important moments in TV history. It was raw, it dealt with race in a way that was uncomfortable and brilliant, and it proved that SNL could do more than just slapstick. It could be biting social commentary.
Pryor's episode (Episode 7) is often cited by historians as the moment the show "found itself." Because Pryor was so unpredictable, the show had to be on its toes. NBC actually demanded a five-second delay for that episode because they were terrified of what he might say. It was the only time in the Saturday Night Live 1st season that the show wasn't truly, 100% live.
Why the First Season Almost Failed
It wasn't all accolades and after-parties at Studio 54. The ratings weren't great initially. The critics were confused. The New York Times wasn't exactly showering them with praise in those first few weeks. There was a lot of internal friction, too.
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- The Budget: They were working with scraps. The sets looked cheap because they were cheap.
- The Schedule: Writing a ninety-minute live show every week is a recipe for a nervous breakdown. The "17th Floor" of the GE Building became a den of sleep deprivation and, famously, a lot of illegal substances.
- The Ego: Chevy Chase’s rapid rise to fame created a rift. The rest of the cast felt overshadowed. By the time the season ended, the tension was palpable.
Despite the mess, the show captured a specific zeitgeist. Post-Watergate, post-Vietnam America was cynical. People wanted to laugh at the institutions that had let them down. When the Saturday Night Live 1st season took aim at the news, advertising, and politics, it felt like someone finally opened a window in a stuffy room.
The Technical Nightmare of 1975
You have to remember what technology was like. No digital editing. No easy way to swap graphics. If a camera went down, you were screwed. If a performer missed a cue, the whole world saw the empty stage. This "liveness" gave the Saturday Night Live 1st season an energy that modern TV lacks. Everything felt like it was on the verge of collapsing.
George Carlin, the first host, didn't even perform in any sketches. He just did stand-up sets between segments. It took a few episodes for the producers to realize the host should be integrated into the comedy. Once they figured that out—starting largely with hosts like Candice Bergen and Buck Henry—the show transitioned from a variety hour to a sketch comedy powerhouse.
Notable Episodes You Should Revisit
If you're looking to understand the DNA of modern comedy, you have to look at these specific installments from the 1975-1976 run:
The Candice Bergen Episode (Episode 4): This was the first time a woman hosted, and it showed the cast could play off a "straight" actor effectively. The "Pound Puppy" sketch is a weird, dark highlight.
The Buck Henry Episode (Season Finale): Buck Henry would go on to host ten times in the first five years. He was the "reliable" host. This episode cemented the "un-hosted" feeling where the cast was the real star.
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The Richard Pryor Episode: As mentioned, this is the gold standard. It’s dangerous, funny, and completely unapologetic.
The Legacy of the 1975 Premiere
The Saturday Night Live 1st season ended with a sense of triumph, but also exhaustion. Chevy Chase won two Emmys and promptly left to pursue a movie career, leaving a hole that would eventually be filled by Bill Murray. But the blueprint was set.
Lorne Michaels had proven that "Late Night" didn't have to be just talk shows. It could be a counter-culture revolution. He created a farm system for talent that is still the most influential pipeline in Hollywood fifty years later.
How to Watch and Analyze It Today
When you watch these episodes now—available on Peacock or through various archival sets—don't look for the "tightness" of a modern episode. Look for the gaps. Look at the way the actors look at each other when a joke lands. There’s a rawness there.
You'll notice that the musical performances were long. Really long. Sometimes five or six minutes. The show wasn't worried about "pacing" in the way we are now. It was about the vibe.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you're a student of comedy or just a fan of the Saturday Night Live 1st season, here is how to actually digest this piece of history:
- Watch the "Commercials": The fake ads in Season 1 (like "New-Vv-Sync") were often more satirical and better written than the sketches. They pioneered the "commercial parody" as a staple of American humor.
- Focus on Gilda Radner: While Chevy and Belushi got the headlines, Gilda’s physical comedy and character work (like Roseanne Roseannadanna, who appeared later but had her roots here) provided the show’s heart.
- Study the "Weekend Update" Evolution: Compare Episode 1's Update to the end of the season. You can see the writers figuring out how to balance "real" news with absurd punchlines in real-time.
- Acknowledge the Context: Read about the "NYC in the 70s" backdrop. The show's grit was a direct reflection of a city that was nearly bankrupt and full of crime. That "edge" wasn't manufactured; it was the environment.
The Saturday Night Live 1st season wasn't perfect. It was often indulgent, sometimes boring, and frequently offensive. But it was the first time television spoke to a generation that had been ignored by the "Big Three" networks. It changed the way we process news and the way we view celebrity. Most importantly, it proved that being "not ready" might actually be the best way to start something great.