EMMY SPOTLIGHT: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
In case you missed it, the 2019 Emmy nominations are here and there is a lot of representation when it comes to TV shows filmed in New York City. Leading up to the Emmys ceremony on September 22nd, we’ll highlight some of our favorite NYC TV shows that are nominated. Check out our coverage of Russian Doll here and Pose here.
The 44th season of Saturday Night Live aired as it always does, Saturday nights right inside the Rockefeller Center in New York City. This season saw little changes in the hilarious cast, with only one member departing and one joining. Although Ariana Grande was set to be the musical guest of the premiere episode, she quickly pulled out after her breakup with Pete Davidson, and the show booked Kanye West instead, with host Adam Driver. Also returning this season was Alec Baldwin, who guest stars as Donald Trump in the show’s presidential sketches. Although it’s been 44 years of this classic variety show, there were still some historical firsts, like Sandra Oh as the first Asian-Canadian host, and BTS as the first K-Pop group to be the show’s musical guest. Notably, Adam Sandler returned to the show to host after almost 25 years, a record tied with Dan Aykroyd.
In terms of the filming locations for the show, Saturday Night Live is produced in Studio 8H in NBC Studios, which is inside the Rockefeller building. On commercial breaks, the crew quickly transforms the small set, transforming the space into homes, ships, restaurants, interrogation rooms, schools, and more. Occasionally, there are pre recorded sketches that are taped on location around Manhattan, like this year’s Upper East Side sketch starring Leslie Jones.
This season of SNL was nominated for a whopping 18 Emmy Awards, ranging from Costumes to Lighting to Writing categories. Because of the rotating door of the host role, Matt Damon, John Mulaney, Adam Sandler, Sandra Oh, and Emma Thompson were all nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress in a Comedy Series category. Robert De Niro also nabbed a nomination for his turn as Robert Mueller on the show, as well as Kate McKinnon in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy category. Leslie Jones, in her final season, earned a nomination for Outstanding Music & Lyrics for the Upper East Side sketch. The show itself is also nominated again in the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series category.
Season 44 is all available to stream on Hulu right now, and season 45 is right around the corner. So far for the upcoming season premiering on September 28th, the variety series has lined up Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, David Harbour, Kristen Stewart, and Eddie Murphy as hosts, with Billie Eillish, Taylor Swift, and Camila Cabello as musical guests.