Saturday Night Live , born October 11, 1975, died May 24, 1986.

That could have been the obituary for the late-night comedy institution, which nearly bit the dust after season 11, depriving America of all the SNL talents who came in later years like Will Ferrell , Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon and so many more.

Saturday Night Live ’s near demise is the focus of one of the four episodes of the Emmy-nominated series SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night , executive produced by Oscar winner Morgan Neville . Kevin Nealon serves as a kind of Rod Serling-like host of the episode, explaining how the show’s “weird year” marked Lorne Michaels’ return to the SNL after a five-year hiatus. Michaels came in with a whole new cast.

“You had Randy Quaid, Joan C

See Full Page