Apparently laughter wasn’t the only contagious thing at “SNL50.”
Steve Martin revealed in an Instagram post on Thursday night that Martin Short caught COVID-19 following “Saturday Night Live’s” 50th anniversary special — and potentially from Maya Rudolph. Martin posted a photo of Short and Rudolph sharing a kiss alongside the caption, “Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real.”
Due to Short’s sickness, Martin announced that the comedy duo would have to reschedule their shows this weekend in Durham, N.C. and Knoxville, Tenn. “So sorry for the inconvenience,” he added. “I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”
Airing on Sunday night, “SNL50” brought together a legion of comedy legends that got their start on the variety sketch show, including Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and more. The returning cast members put a new spin on several fan-favorite skits and characters, including Wiig’s Dooneese, Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer and Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer.
However, not every “SNL” alum participated in the festivities — Dana Carvey got a bad case of the flu and couldn’t make it, Bill Hader had a “longstanding scheduling conflict” and Dan Aykroyd didn’t appear due to “prior commitments.”
In the end, the special hit 14.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, which is 202% above the average number of people who tune into each regular episode of “SNL.”
