Scoring a seat in Studio 8H is notoriously one of the hardest tickets to land in all of television. But if you want to see Season 52 of “Saturday Night Live” in person, the application window is about to open.
While scoring a seat inside the iconic studio feels like winning the Mega Millions, knowing exactly how to pitch yourself in that application email is just one of the secrets to getting noticed.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Ticket Lottery Opens in August
According to the official Rockefeller Center website, one way to get tickets to a taping of “Saturday Night Live” is via email.
Fans must enter the annual ticket lottery beginning August 1. This opportunity remains open throughout the month, until August 31.
Fans of the show can send an email to SNLTICKETS@NBCUNI.COM. In the body of the email, write your first and last name. Then, add a short note about why you’d like to attend.
Fans must check the NBC Tickets and Studio Tour page for the official time window to enter. Winners are selected randomly and notified by email.
There are Better Chances to be had if You Are Willing To Wait Outside 30 Rock
“Saturday Night Live” fans can also wait on the show’s standby line. This is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Friday night before a live show.
The SNL standby reservation link opens up at 10 a.m. the Thursday before a live show. Its at this link that fans can reserve a ticket for either the show’s dress rehearsal at 8 p.m., or a ticket for the live show, which begins at 11:35 p.m. EST.
Once the reservation is made, fans will receive an email with a reservation number. Then, they have to head to midtown Manhattan to check in at the in-person standby line between 6 pm and 7 pm the Friday before a show day.
Then, the waiting begins. Standby cards are handed out at 12:01 am on the Saturday morning of the live episode. Fans can leave, but must return later that day to wait on line again as part of the standby line to see the live show. However, there is still no guarantee that even after all of that, one will gain entrance to a taping.
Did ‘Saturday Night Live’ Always Have an Audience?
Yes, “Saturday Night Live” has always had a live audience.
However, when the show first debuted, it was difficult to get audience members inside Studio 8H. In fact, for the show’s first run-through, in October 1975, NBC Pages were reportedly outside the building pulling people in to be audience members, as seen in the feature film “Saturday Night.”
Salon wrote, “The first full run-through of the premiere show, on Friday night, October 10, didn’t go well. Somebody forgot to make sure that there was an audience in Studio 8H, and at the last minute, pages from NBC’s Guest Relations staff were outside 30 Rock, pulling in any warm bodies they could find. Thus, a fair number of those who witnessed ‘SNL’s’ first full rehearsal were homeless people taking the opportunity to spend 90 minutes off the street.”
There has not yet been an announcement of when the first episode of Season 52 of “Saturday Night Live” will air.
