Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a live late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. It premiered on NBC, a terrestrial television network in the United States, on October 11, 1975, under the title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's sketches often parody contemporary American popular culture and politics. Saturday Night Live features a two-tiered cast consisting of repertory members, also called the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" (the name used by the show's original cast), and newer cast members who are known as "Featured Players." Each week, the show features a host who delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast. A musical guest also performs. With the exception of season 7, the show has begun with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
