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60 free SNL trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
54 free SNL trivia questions with answers. Saturday Night Live has been broadcasting from Studio 8H since October 1975, which means fifty years of cast members, catchphrases, walk-offs and Weekend Update anchors to argue about. This SNL trivia quiz runs the whole history: the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, the disastrous season without Lorne Michaels, Eddie Murphy's rescue, the Church Lady and Wayne's World, the Bad Boys era, More Cowbell, the Digital Shorts and the three-hour 50th anniversary special. The early questions are ones any casual viewer can get (who created the show, where it is filmed, what the cold open ends with). From there it gets tougher: which host was banned after one appearance, who lip-synced before Ashlee Simpson, which musical guest was cut to one song for hanging upside-down flags, and how old the youngest cast member ever was. Every answer has been checked against the published record and carries a linked source, so you can settle a Five-Timers dispute on the spot. Good for a comedy-nerd trivia night, a group chat, or testing whether you really have watched every era.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01SNL airs live on NBC and, since the 2021–22 season, simultaneously on which streaming service?
Peacock
Before that, seasons bounced between Netflix, Seeso, Hulu and even Yahoo! Screen; the show has streamed live on Peacock every episode since.
Q 02SNL is broadcast from which room on the eighth and ninth floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza?
Studio 8H
Built in 1933 as the world's largest radio studio, it once housed Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra.
Q 03How does the cold open of a typical SNL episode end?
"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
The very first one, in 1975, was delivered by Chevy Chase after a sketch with Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi.
Q 04Which comedian hosted the very first episode on October 11, 1975?
George Carlin
The premiere also featured two musical guests, Billy Preston and Janis Ian, plus Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse routine.
Q 05What was the original cast of 1975 nicknamed?
The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players
Writer Herb Sargent coined the name; the group was initially paid $750 an episode and practically lived at the office.
Q 06Who is the longest-serving cast member in SNL history?
Kenan Thompson
He joined in 2003 after growing up on Nickelodeon's All That and Kenan & Kel.
Q 07Which Chicago improv troupe produced Aykroyd, Belushi, Chris Farley, Tina Fey and Tim Meadows before SNL?
The Second City
The Groundlings in Los Angeles supplied Laraine Newman, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz and Kristen Wiig.
Q 08Which two SNL cast members created the Blues Brothers?
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi
The act debuted as a musical guest in April 1978 on an episode hosted by Steve Martin, and Elwood carried his harmonica in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.
Q 09Wayne and Garth host their public-access show Wayne's World from a basement in which Illinois town?
Aurora
Mike Myers first played Wayne on Canadian TV in 1987; Dana Carvey's Garth is loosely based on Carvey's brother Brad.
Q 10In the More Cowbell sketch, Christopher Walken's producer oversees which band's session?
Blue Öyster Cult
The cowbell player Gene Frenkle came out of years of hearing the faint cowbell on the record and wondering what that guy's life was like.
Q 11Which flamboyant SNL nightclub guide told Update about clubs that had "everything"?
Stefon
Bill Hader and John Mulaney based him partly on a club promoter's email and a Chelsea barista; Mulaney rewrote the cue cards to make Hader break.
Q 12Which actor holds the record for hosting SNL the most times?
Alec Baldwin
He took the record from Steve Martin, and later won an Emmy for his recurring Donald Trump.
Q 13Tina Fey returned to SNL in 2008 to play which real politician?
Sarah Palin
The much-quoted line "I can see Russia from my house" was Fey's, not the candidate's.
Q 21Which 2005 SNL Digital Short about smuggling cupcakes into a Narnia matinee helped put YouTube on the map?
Lazy Sunday
Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell wrote it in one night with the rest of the Lonely Island; bootleg uploads spread it overnight.
Q 22In 1992 Sinéad O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while performing which Bob Marley song?
War
She said 'fight the real enemy' and threw the pieces to the floor; Joe Pesci and Madonna both mocked her on the show later that season.
Q 23Before Ashlee Simpson's 2004 lip-sync fiasco, which group had been the only act to lip-sync on SNL?
ABBA
Lorne Michaels refuses lip-synching on principle; the Swedish quartet's 1975 spot was the lone exception for nearly thirty years.
Q 14Which clay children's-TV character did Eddie Murphy reinvent as a morose, cigar-chomping cynic?
Gumby
Art Clokey's son said both he and his father thought Eddie Murphy was a genius in the role; 'I'm Gumby, dammit!' became a catchphrase.
Q 15Which host's December 1990 SNL episode introduced the Five-Timers Club sketch?
Tom Hanks
The club sketch featured Steve Martin, Elliott Gould and Paul Simon, who at that point had actually hosted only four times.
Q 16Which Rachel Dratch SNL character ruined a Disney World breakfast with grim news and a trombone 'wah-wah'?
Debbie Downer
The May 2004 debut with Lindsay Lohan became famous because the whole cast broke; the character was created by Dratch and Paula Pell.
Q 17Which future Better Call Saul star conceived Chris Farley's van-dwelling motivational speaker Matt Foley?
Bob Odenkirk
Farley first performed it in Chicago improv before SNL and named the character after a rugby teammate who became a priest.
Q 18The Church Lady, host of Church Chat, was a signature character of which cast member?
Dana Carvey
Enid Strict came out of his stand-up act; his mother said the voice reminded her of women who tracked church attendance.
Q 19Under what title did the show premiere in 1975, since ABC already had a Howard Cosell show with the later name?
NBC's Saturday Night
ABC's version was Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell; NBC's show officially adopted the name at the start of the 1977–78 season.
Q 20In which year did Colin Jost and Michael Che become co-anchors of the Update desk?
2014
Che replaced Cecily Strong in September 2014, becoming the segment's first African-American co-anchor; the pair now hold the longest Update tenures ever.
Q 24Who was the first woman to host SNL, on the fourth episode in 1975?
Candice Bergen
She was also the first host to return, and that same episode introduced the Land Shark.
Q 25Which musician is SNL's most frequent musical guest, with more than a dozen appearances since 1992?
Dave Grohl
He counts appearances with Nirvana, Foo Fighters and as a guest player with other acts.
Q 26Which SNL announcer voiced the opening credits from 1975 until his death in 2014?
Don Pardo
He had also announced the original Jeopardy! and The Price Is Right; Darrell Hammond took over the job the month after he died.
Q 27In 1999 who became the first woman to serve as SNL's head writer?
Tina Fey
She joined the cast a year later as Weekend Update co-anchor and eventually spun her SNL experiences into 30 Rock.
Q 28Which SNL veteran replaced Chevy Chase in the cast in 1977 after Chase left mid-season for the movies?
Bill Murray
Michaels had wanted him for the original cast; he had instead been on ABC's rival Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.
Q 29The Coneheads first appeared in a 1977 episode hosted by which consumer advocate?
Ralph Nader
Beldar (Aykroyd), Prymaat (Curtin) and Connie (Newman) claimed to be from France; the 1993 film brought them back.
Q 30Which producer ran SNL for the disastrous 1980–81 season after the original cast left?
Jean Doumanian
She had to hire a full cast and writing staff in under three months, and was dismissed after ten months when Charles Rocket swore on air.