On what date did Saturday Night Live premiere on NBC?
Answer
October 11, 1975
Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975.
The first broadcast was hosted by comedian George Carlin and originally aired under the title NBC’s Saturday Night. NBC used that title because ABC was simultaneously airing a program called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. After Cosell’s show was canceled, NBC acquired the name and adopted Saturday Night Live officially in 1977.
The series was created by Lorne Michaels as a live late-night variety show combining sketch comedy, satire, music, and celebrity hosting. Its original performers—including Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, and Laraine Newman—became known as the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players.
A frequent mix-up is treating October 4, 1975, as the premiere date; that date belongs to neither the show’s first NBC broadcast nor its official title change. January 17, 1976, was a later first-season date, not the debut.