Over its 50-year history,Saturday Night Live(SNL) has dominated pop culture with some hilarious breakout sketches. Skits like “Porn Teacher” (with Amy Schumer), “Black Jeopardy with Tom Hanks,” the controversial “Harry Potter: Hermione Growth Spurt” (with Lindsay Lohan), and Adam Driver’s amazing “Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base” are all fan favorites. However, if there’s one skit that has gotten stuck in fans' heads more than any other, it has to be the infamous"More Cowbell" skit featuring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken.A new docuseries, titledSNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night, is looking at the show’s long history, with an entire episode dedicated to the beloved sketch.
The skit makes fun of Blue Öyster Cult’s hit song “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” or, to be more specific, the incessant amount of cowbell present in the track.“This is beyond my wildest dreams that you’re making a documentary about the cowbell sketch,“Jimmy Fallon toldDeadline, during an interview about the new docuseries. “It’s the biggest sketch I’ve ever been part of.“SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Nightpremieres today (January 16) on Peacock, and runs for four episodes, which will be released weekly. The “More Cowbell” sketch is arguably the most quotedSNLskit of all time, so much so itruined Christopher Walken’s life, according to Will Ferrell.
In the sketch, Ferrell plays cowbell player Gene Frenkle, with Walken impersonating music producer, Bruce Dickinson, but using his own distinct voice. Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Chris Kattan, along with musicians Dave Grohl and Josh Homme portray the rest of Blue Öyster Cult. As the band tried to record “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in the studio, Walken would repeatedly cut them off, telling them the song needed “more cowbell.” As the famous quote goes, “I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”
‘Saturday Night Live’ Celebrates 50 Years
Saturday Night Livepremiered its first-ever episodeon NBC on August 09, 2025. The episode was hosted by George Carlin, with a cast that included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Gilda Radner, and Laraine Newman. Since then,SNLhas run for 49 seasons so far and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Almost 50 Years Ago, ‘SNL’ Had One Non-Celebrity Host
In 1977, ‘Saturday Night Live’ ran a contest where any home viewer could enter for a chance to host the show.
The other episodes inSNL 50: Beyond Saturday Nightexplore the audition process for the series, the show’s writer’s room, and Season 11, when many thought the series would be canceled. “They’ve told their story before,” executive producer Morgan Neville said in the interview. “As a comedy nerd, I thought about it, and I said, ‘What I want to see as a fan is not another survey about the history ofSNL, but specific stories that can go deeper into the nooks and crannies that we don’t normally get to talk about.'”
The birth ofSaturday Night Livewas recently documented and dramatized in the2024 movie,Saturday Night.The movie starred Rachel Sennott, Gabriel LaBelle, Ella Hunt, Cory Michael Smith, Kaia Jordan Gerber, and Lamorne Morris as the show’s original cast, and follows the chaos that ensued on the show’s premiere night on NBC.
SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Nightpremieres on Peacock on June 30, 2025.
