Questlove to direct ’50 Years of SNL Music’ documentary

Questlove is due to direct a music-themed documentary for Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its 50th anniversary.

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Yesterday (December 19), NBC announced the Questlove-helmed documentary Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music. Per NBC, it will include over 50 interviews with musicians from the last five decades who have performed on the hit sketch comedy show.

This includes the likes of Mick Jagger, Dave Grohl, Jack White, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello and more.

The three-hour feature will also include interviews with present and former cast and crew members include Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Al Franken, Bill Hader, Eddie Murphy, Liz Patrick, Andy Samberg, 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,” Questlove said of the documentary. “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.”

Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music will premiere on January 27 at 8pm ET on NBC and will be available for streaming the next day via Peacock. The documentary is just one of the programmes planned to celebrate SNL leading up to its 50th anniversary in October next year.

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The news of Questlove helming the upcoming SNL documentary comes after he was announced to direct an upcoming Earth, Wind & Fire documentary film, set for release in 2025. Prior to that, he directed the acclaimed, Oscar and Grammy-winning 2021 documentary Summer Of Soul, which told the story of the overlooked 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

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