Tomorrow night, the entire celebrity universe is getting together to celebrate SNL’s 40th Anniversary season, and some of your favorite boy bands are just a few of many reasons to get excited about it!
Just a reminder for everyone, though SNL airs on Saturdays, there is no new episode tonight. Tomorrow, the live 40th Anniversary Special will air for three and a half hours from 8-11:30 p.m. ET.
It’s hard to sum 40 years of SNL in to six reasons to be excited for tomorrow, but let’s highlight just a couple to whet your appetite!
1. NYSYNC is reuniting
Earlier today, NSYNC gave us a really exciting Valentine’s Day gift (aww, thanks guys!) when they tweeted from their official Twitter account that they were back together again and used the Anniversary Special’s official hashtag:
"Together again…
Gee, it's good to be together again"
#SNL40
— *NSYNC (@NSYNC) February 14, 2015
Justin Timberlake is obviously a huge part of the SNL legacy in the last 10 years, having become one of the most highly-anticipated hosts and musical guests.
And let’s admit it, after that let-down of an NSYNC reunion at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards where they popped out of the stage, did a dance move and disappeared, they kind of owe it to us to come up with something better!
2. The Backstreet Boys are also reuniting
Be still our ’90s boy-band-loving hearts! SNL didn’t make any official confirmation about NSYNC being there (despite their obvious tweet), but they did confirm to EW.com that the Backstreet Boys will be in attendance.
Here’s hoping there’s some sort of end-all boyband competition or performance tomorrow night! How great would it be to see NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys give some advice to surprise guests One Direction? Here’s hoping!
3. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return!
Yes, we just saw them hosting their third Golden Globes, but we can all agree that there’s never enough Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in our lives. The duo are set to star in an upcoming comedy movie called Sisters, so let’s hope they return to their old Weekend Update desk in some capacity!
5. Sarah Palin returns!
Okay, this ties in with Tina Fey a little bit, but according to People.com, Sarah Palin is allegedly returning to SNL for the first time since her mega successful cameo during the 2008 election years. Palin’s appearance on SNL brought in some of its biggest ratings in the history of the show, so it’s only fitting that she would be participating in the celebration of the show’s 40 years!
Tina Fey, Palin’s spot-on impersonator, never actually shared any real screen time with Fey when Palin made her appearance. Maybe this time, with less at stake for Palin, we can see a true sketch featuring tons of “you betchas!”
6. The return of your favorite nostalgic characters!
If there’s one thing we’ve been learning in pop culture over the last few years, it’s that nostalgia is in, particularly in late night comedy where Jimmy Fallon has basically owned the genre. Though Fallon often does incredible sketches on The Tonight Show, the Saved By The Bell reunion just a few weeks ago was definitely a home run.
Now’s the chance for SNL to dig back into its archive and bring back some of our favorites and most iconic: the Spartan cheerleaders, Gilly, MacGruber, Mary Catherine Gallagher, Jeopardy‘s Alex Trebek and Sean Connery, the Church Lady, the Coneheads. The list could literally go on forever.
Regardless, it’s pretty clear that tomorrow night’s three and a half hour SNL 40th Anniversary Special is going to be full of surprises and likely land as one of the most important pop culture events this decade!
Check out this list of some of the actors, musical performers, and SNL alumni that will be a part of the SNL special below. There are literally so many people involved that we have lost track of it all:
Justin Timberlake, Emma Stone, Jimmy Fallon, Derek Jeter, Paul McCartney, Chevy Chase, Kanye West, Adam Sandler, Melissa McCarthy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Paul Simon, Robert DeNiro, Jerry Seinfeld, Molly Shannon, Steve Martin, Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Kristen Wiig, John Goodman, Jon Lovitz, Alec Baldwin, Louis C.K., Will Forte, Tim Meadows, Joe Piscopo, Edward Norton, Colin Quinn, Bradley Cooper, Billy Crystal, Ana Gasteyer, Kevin Nealon, Miley Cyrus, Jane Curtain, Jon Hamm, Jack Nicholson, Zach Galifianakis, Taylor Swift, Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, David Spade, Kerry Washington, Fred Armisen, James Franco, Norm McDonald, Bill Murray.
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