What comedy special won at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards after marking Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary?

SNL50: The Anniversary Special won the Comedy Special award at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

The special celebrated Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary and brought together performers and alumni from the long-running NBC sketch-comedy program. Its Critics Choice win recognized the event as a standalone comedy special rather than as a regular season of the series.

Saturday Night Live premiered in 1975, making its 50th anniversary a major television milestone in 2025. The commemorative special used the program’s official SNL50 branding and featured a large gathering of past and present contributors.

This award was different from Best Variety Series, which went to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. It was also separate from Best Animated Series, won by South Park. These distinctions matter because the ceremony introduced or emphasized several formats across its television categories.