Billy Crystal, who would later join the cast, hosted twice in Season 9.

Season 8 began with a return of Chevy Chase, though he hosted remotely from studios in Burbank, California.

With Lorne Michaels still on hiatus, Season 7 was produced by original show developer Dick Ebersol.

Also known as Saturday Night Live ’80, this season ran without normal producer Lorne Michaels while he took time off. Instead, Jean Doumanian produced Season 6.

This season introduced the popular animated shorts with Mr. Bill.

Season 4 began with the Rolling Stones acting as both host and musical guest.

The last season where the cast was called the “Not Ready for Primetime Players.”

Midway through this season, NBC’s Saturday Night changed its name to Saturday Night Live after ABC’s Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell was cancelled.

The inaugural season of SNL. After Johnny Carson asked to end the weekend broadcasts of his Tonight Show, NBC created a new show, then called NBC’s Saturday Night, to fill space. The new show found a home in Rockerfeller Center, New York City, in part to offset NBC’s maintenance overhead. Dick Ebersol hired Lorne Michaels as the show-runner for the new variety show, mostly focused on sketch comedy. The cast was dubbed the “Not Ready for Primetime Players.”