Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL 50: Lin-Manuel Miranda Got "Hamilton" Return Call on Friday Night

Lin-Manuel Miranda offered some behind-the-scenes looks at his "Hamilton" return during last night's SNL "Founding Fathers" Cold Open.

If you had a chance to check out the cold open for this weekend's edition of NBC's Saturday Night Live (with host and musical guest Timothée Chalamet), then you know that it began with a look at our Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence before Lin-Manuel Miranda made a guest-starring return as Alexander Hamilton. "I say, our lives matter not if we lose them in the cause of liberty. What matters is the nation we built. Because in America, all men are created equal. America, not England, we do win the sequel, and we will have leaders, but no one thing in America, we will never have a king," Miranda proclaims, getting ready to go musical – until James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump freezes the performance with a personal report card of how his first week back in office went (and Johnson getting Miranda to partially break once or twice). Now, Miranda is sharing some insights into how it all came together – including how he didn't get the call from EP Lorne Michaels until Friday night.

"Lorne called me Friday night. And I work up the street, so. Thanks to @paultazewell for getting my old threads out of storage.
Great job T. Love you @nbcsnl happy 50," Miranda wrote as the caption to his Instagram post, which also included some behind-the-scenes looks:

Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music Official Trailer Released

With NBC's Saturday Night Live rolling on with Season 50, the big anniversary celebrations are also rolling along. You can check out the four-part docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night on Peacock, and then there's the big primetime event set for February 16th. Now, here's a look at what Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez have to offer with Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music – a celebration of SNL's half-century of musical influence that's set for January 27th at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC (and streaming the next day on Peacock).

For 50 seasons, NBC's Saturday Night Live has served as the premier venue for televised live music performances while continuously pushing boundaries to reimagine the relationship between music and comedy. Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music will feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking, and newsmaking musical performances, sketches, and cameos of the past 50 years. Over the course of the three-hour special broadcast event, viewers will have a chance to hear from quite a few of the folks who impacted SNL's legacy.

In terms of musicians, we're looking at Bad Bunny, DJ Breakout, Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish & Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Darryl DMC McDaniels, Tom Morello, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, MC Sha-Rock, Paul Simon, Chris Stapleton, Justin Timberlake, Lee Ving, and Jack White.

On the SNL side, we will be hearing from Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Conan O'Brien, Eli Brueggemann,  Jane Curtin, Jimmy Fallon, Al Franken, Josiah Gluck, Bill Hader, Steve Higgins, Marci Klein, Melanie Malone, Tom Malone, Mary Ellen Matthews, Eddie Murphy, Ego Nwodim, Liz Patrick, Leon Pendarvis, Lenny Pickett, Joe Piscopo, Andy Samberg, Brian Siedlecki, Akiva Schaffer, Paul Shaffer, Sarah Sherman, Howard Shore, Robert Smigel, Jorma Taccone, Kenan Thompson, Maya Rudolph, Hal Willner, and Bowen Yang.

"Everyone knows the most famous 'SNL' appearances, whether it's Elvis Costello, Prince, or the Beastie Boys, but they're the tip of a huge iceberg," Thompson shared in a statement when details on the special were released. "The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I'm so happy I went on the trip and now get to share it with everyone." Lorne Michaels, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Zarah Zohlman, Erin David, Dave Sirulnick, Jon Kamen, Meredith Bennett, Alexander H. Browne, Shawn Gee, and Tariq Trotter serve as executive producers – with Oz Rodriguez serving as a producer. The special is produced by Two One Five Entertainment, RadicalMedia, and Broadway Video.

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