1990

▪️Ed O’Neill, Christopher Walken, Quincy Jones, Fred Savage, Rob Lowe, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay, Kyle MacLachlan, Susan Lucci, George Steinbrenner, Patrick Swayze, Jimmy Smits and Dennis Quaid host for the first time.

▪️Harry Connick, Jr., Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Sinéad O’Connor and Mariah Carey perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Host Quincy Jones dedicates his monologue to Nelson Mandela, who was released from prison in South Africa the next day, by performing the song “Manteca.” That episode also features the largest number of musical guests in any SNL episode, as Jones is joined by Tevin Campbell, Kool Moe Dee, Big Daddy, Kane, Melle Mel, Jones’ son Quincy Jones III and Al Jarreau among others.

▪️Cast member Nora Dunn and scheduled musical guest Sinéad O’Connor boycotted the episode hosted by Andrew Dice Clay due to his sexist jokes about women.

▪️Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz leave the cast at the end of Season 15.

▪️Chris Farley and Chris Rock join the cast at the beginning of Season 16. Rob Schneider would join the cast in the fourth episode of the season and David Spade and Julia Sweeney would join the cast an episode after that.

▪️Adam Sandler is hired as a writer.

▪️The Continental makes its sketch debut with host Christopher Walken.

▪️Aerosmith appears in a “Wayne’s World” sketch.

▪️The Five Timer’s Club appears on SNL for the first time as host Tom Hanks joins Elliott Gould, Steve Martin and Paul Simon as a member.

▪️Mike Myers makes his first appearance as Simon.

▪️The Dark Side with Nat X (Chris Rock) makes its debut.

▪️The androgynous character Pat (Julia Sweeney) makes their first appearance.

▪️Host Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley perform together as Chippendale dancers.

▪️The Ex-Boyfriend sketch from Season 16 Episode 9 was submitted by an uncredited Judd Apatow.

▪️Maury Povich appears on the show.

▪️Gene Rayburn appears on the show.

▪️Bob Costas appears on the show.

▪️Tony Randall appears on the show.

1991

▪️Joe Mantegna, Sting, Kevin Bacon, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox, Jeremy Irons, Catherine O’Hara, Steven Seagal, George Wendt, Michael Jordan, Jeff Daniels, Kirstie Alley, Christian Slater, Kiefer Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, Macaulay Culkin and MC Hammer host for the first time.

▪️Vanilla Ice, Whitney Houston, R.E.M., Michael Bolton and Public Enemy perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler join the cast.

▪️A. Whitney Brown, Jan Hooks and Dennis Miller leave the cast at the end of Season 16.

▪️Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and Robert Smigel join the cast at the beginning of Season 17. Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell join the cast later that year.

▪️Ian Maxtone-Graham and Warren Hutcherson are hired as writers.

▪️Kevin Nealon takes over as the anchor of Weekend Update.

▪️Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey makes its debut.

▪️Bill Swerski’s Superfans makes its debut as the most “Chicago” sketch in SNL history.

▪️The Chris Farley Show makes its debut.

▪️Coffee Talk makes its debut.

▪️Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) makes its debut.

▪️I’m Chillin’ with Onski (Chris Rock) and B-Fats (Chris Farley) makes its debut.

▪️The Richmeister (Rob Schneider) makes his first appearance.

▪️Ellen Cleghorne appears as Zoraida the NBC page for the first time.

▪️Queen Shenequa (Ellen Cleghorne) makes her first appearance.

▪️Tom Arnold appears in the episode hosted by Roseanne Barr.

▪️Boxers Evander Holyfield and Donovan “Razor” Ruddock appear on the show.

▪️Carole King plays with the band for an episode.

▪️The cast of Cheers appears on the show during host Kirstie Alley’s opening monologue.

▪️Political commentator John McLaughlin appears on the show.

▪️Pro football quarterback Ken Stabler appears on the show.

▪️Edward Furlong (John Connor in Terminator 2) appears in the episode hosted by Linda Hamilton.

▪️Martin Scorsese appears as himself on The Chris Farley Show.

▪️Wednesday and Pugsley Addams (Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman) appear in the introduction to MC Hammer’s performance of “Addams Groove.”

▪️Jesse Jackson reads Green Eggs and Ham as a tribute to Dr. Seuss, who died four days earlier.

1992

▪️Sharon Stone, Jerry Seinfeld, Nicolas Cage, Joe Pesci, Sinbad and Tom Arnold host for the first time.

▪️Nirvana, C+C Music Factory, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garth Brooks, Pearl Jam, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, Vanessa Williams, Bobby Brown and Morrissey perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Beth Cahill, Siobhan Fallon and Victoria Jackson leave the cast at the end of Season 17.

▪️David Mandel and Fred Wolf are hired as writers.

▪️Opera Man (Adam Sandler) makes his first appearance.

▪️Cajun Man (Adam Sandler) makes his first appearance.

▪️David Spade makes fun of celebrities on his segment Hollywood Minute for the first time.

▪️Musical guest Sinéad O’Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II long before child abuse in the Catholic Church became common knowledge. This was not rehearsed and even the crew was surprised when it happened.

▪️Barbra Streisand makes an appearance on Coffee Talk.

▪️Susan Sarandon appears on the show.

▪️Robert De Niro makes an appearance during the episode hosted by Joe Pesci alongside Martin Scorsese.

▪️Mary Beth Hurt makes an appearance during the “Lesbian Christmas Party” sketch.

1993

▪️Harvey Keitel, Luke Perry, Jason Alexander, Christina Applegate, Charles Barkley, Jeff Goldblum, Rosie O’Donnell, Nicole Kidman and Sally Field host for the first time.

▪️Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, Peter Gabriel, Lenny Kravitz, Cypress Hill and the Smashing Pumpkins perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Dana Carvey leaves the cast during Season 18.

▪️Chris Rock leaves the cast at the end of Season 18 to join In Living Color and Robert Smigel leaves the cast at the same time to join Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

▪️Norm MacDonald, Jay Mohr and Sarah Silverman are hired as writers. All three would join the cast later that year.

▪️Dave Attell and Lew Morton are hired as writers.

▪️Motivational speaker Matt Foley (Chris Farley) makes his first appearance.

▪️Gap Girls makes its debut.

▪️Canteen Boy (Adam Sandler) makes his first appearance.

▪️Mike Judge’s animated Office Space series makes its debut.

▪️The SNL studio is taken over by apes during the episode hosted by Planet of the Apes star Charlton Heston.

▪️Musical guest Madonna sings “Happy Birthday” Marilyn Monroe-style to President Bill Clinton (Phil Hartman) during a cold open.

▪️Mike Ditka appears on the show.

▪️Giorgio Armani appears on the show.

▪️Basketball point guard Muggsy Bogues appears on the show.

▪️Drag queen RuPaul appears on the show.

▪️Laura Dern appears on the show during Jeff Goldblum’s monologue.

▪️Casey Kasem appears on the show.

1994

▪️Sara Gilbert, Patrick Stewart, Martin Lawrence, Nancy Kerrigan, Helen Hunt, Kelsey Grammer, Emilio Estevez, Heather Locklear, Marisa Tomei, John Travolta, Dana Carvey, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Turturro and George Foreman host for the first time.

▪️Counting Crows, Salt-N-Pepa, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, Seal, Green Day and the Beastie Boys perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Michael McKean joins the cast during Season 19.

▪️Phil Hartman, Melanie Hutsell, Rob Schneider, Sarah Silverman and Julia Sweeney leave the cast at the end of Season 19.

▪️Chris Elliott, Janeane Garofalo and Laura Kightlinger join the cast at the beginning of Season 20.

▪️Norm MacDonald takes over as the anchor of Weekend Update.

▪️Adam Sandler introduces “The Chanukah Song” during Weekend Update.

▪️David Spade popularizes the phrase “buh-bye” during the “Total Bastards Airline” sketch.

▪️Richard Simmons makes an appearance on Coffee Talk.

▪️Bernie Kopell (Doc from The Love Boat) appears on the show.

▪️Stephen Baldwin and Billy Baldwin appear on the show during the “Family Feud” sketch with host Alec Baldwin.

▪️ Basketball center Benoit Benjamin appears on the show.

▪️Cindy Crawford appears on the show.

▪️HairClub founder Sy Sperling appears on the show.

▪️Basketball player and political activist Manute Bol appears on the show.

▪️Third baseman and outfielder Bobby Bonilla, pitcher Roger Clemens, center fielder Lenny Dykstra, pitcher Jack McDowell and first baseman Mo Vaughn appear on the show.

▪️Brian Austen Green appears on the show.

▪️David Lander and Steve Buscemi appear on the show during a Quentin Tarantino-style parody of Welcome Back, Kotter with host John Travolta.

▪️George H. W. Bush appears on the show with Bush impersonator Dana Carvey.

▪️David Hasselhoff appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Rip Taylor appears on the show.

▪️Sports announcer Michael Buffer appears on the show.

1995

▪️David Hyde Pierce, Deion Sanders, George Clooney, Paul Reiser, Damon Wayans, Courtney Cox, Bob Saget, David Duchovny, Mariel Hemingway, David Schwimmer, Quentin Tarantino and David Alan Grier host for the first time.

▪️The Cranberries, Dave Matthews Band, TLC, Alanis Morisette and the Foo Fighters perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Mark McKinney joins the cast during Season 20.

▪️Mike Myers, Janeane Garofalo and Al Franken leave the cast during Season 20.

▪️Molly Shannon and Morwenna Banks join the cast during Season 20.

▪️After a particularly weak and negatively reviewed Season 20, Morwenna Banks, Ellen Cleghorne, Chris Elliott, Chris Farley, Laura Kightlinger, Michael McKean, Jay Mohr, Kevin Nealon and Adam Sandler all leave the cast at the end of the season.

▪️Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, David Koechner, Cheri Oteri and Nancy Walls all join the cast at the beginning of Season 21.

▪️Steve Higgins, Adam McKay, Paula Pell and Colin Quinn are hired as writers.

▪️Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon) makes her first appearance.

▪️The Spartan Cheerleaders (Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri) make their first appearance.

▪️The Joe Pesci Show makes its debut with Jim Breuer impersonating Pesci.

▪️Spade in America makes its debut.

▪️Rita DelVecchio (Cheri Oteri) makes her first appearance.

▪️Will Ferrell yells “Get off the shed!” for the first time.

▪️Darrell Hammond impersonates Nightline host Ted Koppel for the first time.

▪️The British Fops (Mark McKinney and David Koechner) make their first appearance.

▪️Perspectives with Lionel Osbourne (Tim Meadows) makes its debut.

▪️Suzanne Pleshette appears on the show in a Newhart parody.

▪️Brian Dennehy appears on the show.

▪️David Alan Grier appears on the show to reprise the In Living Color sketch “Men on Film” with host Damon Wayans.

▪️Supermodel Naomi Campbell appears on the show.

▪️Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow appear on the show during David Schwimmer’s opening monologue along with Diff’rent Strokes star Gary Coleman, Good Times star Jimmie Walker and The Brady Bunch star Barry Williams.

▪️New Jersey senator Bill Bradley and former Tennessee governor and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander appear on the show.

Baseball pitchers Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers and third baseman Chipper Jones appear during a Spade in America sketch along with Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde.

▪️Welcome Back, Kotter star Robert Hegyes appears on the show.

▪️Sam Waterston appears on the show.

1996

▪️Elle MacPherson, Steve Forbes, Teri Hatcher, Christine Baranski, Jim Carrey, Lisa Kudrow, Bill Pullman, Chris Rock, Robert Downey Jr., Phil Hartman and Martin Short host for the first time.

▪️Coolio, Tupac Shakur, Rage Against the Machine, the Cure, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow, New Edition, Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple and No Doubt perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Chris Kattan and Colin Quinn join the cast during Season 21. Longtime SNL writer Fred Wolf also joins the cast during Season 21 but he leaves the same year during the next season.

▪️David Koechner, David Spade and Nancy Walls leave the cast at the end of Season 21.

▪️Ana Gasteyer and Tracy Morgan join the cast at the beginning of Season 22.

▪️Robert Carlock and Stephen Colbert are hired as writers.

▪️Musical guest Rage Against the Machine’s second song was cut after they attempt to hang inverted American flags from their amplifiers in protest of host and Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes.

▪️Will Ferrell impersonates sportscaster Harry Caray for the first time.

▪️The Roxbury Guys make their first appearance.

▪️Goat Boy (Jim Breuer) appears for the first time.

▪️Marty Culp (Will Ferrell) and Bobbi Culp (Ana Gasteyer) make their first appearance.

▪️Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon introduce the “Delicious Dish” sketch.

▪️Suel Forrester (Chris Kattan) makes his first appearance.

▪️Mr. Peepers (Chris Kattan) makes his first appearance.

▪️Gerald “T-Bone” Tibbons (David Koechner) appears for the first time.

▪️Celebrity Jeopardy! makes its debut.

▪️The guys all drink to their buddy Bill Brasky for the first time.

▪️Robert Smigel’s Saturday TV Funhouse cartoons make their SNL debut.

▪️The Ambiguously Gay Duo makes their SNL debut. Voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell.

▪️Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani and New York governor George Pataki appear on the show.

▪️Football cornerback Larry Brown appears on the show.

▪️MTV News correspondent Kurt Loder appears on the show.

▪️Dennis Rodman appears on the show.

▪️Comedian Jim Gaffigan appears on the show.

▪️Olympic gymnast Kerri Strugg appears on the show.

▪️Abe Vigoda appears on the show.

▪️Bob Dole appears on the show.

▪️Actor Cliff Robertson appears on the show.

▪️Penny Marshall appears on the show.

▪️Beavis and Butt-Head (voiced by Mike Judge) appear on the show during Weekend Update.

1997

▪️Kevin Spacey, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers, Pamela Anderson, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew Perry, Brendan Fraser, Chris Farley, Jon Lovitz, Claire Danes, Rudy Giuliani and Nathan Lane host for the first time.

▪️Beck, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sarah McLachlan, Metallica and Hanson perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Mark McKinney leaves the cast at the end of Season 22.

▪️Michael Schur and Tina Fey are hired as writers.

▪️Chevy Chase would never host SNL again after Season 22 with the reason believed to be due to an incident in which he slapped Cheri Oteri in the head off air.

▪️Morning talk show The View is parodied for the first time.

▪️Ana Gasteyer impersonates Martha Stewart for the first time.

▪️The Zimmermans (Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri) make their first appearance.

▪️Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon introduce Goth Talk.

▪️The Ladies’ Man (Tim Meadows) makes his first appearance.

▪️Mango (Chris Kattan) makes his first appearance.

▪️The X-Presidents make their Saturday TV Funhouse debut.

▪️John Cleese and Michael Palin appear on the show together and perform the famous “Dead Parrot” sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

▪️Howard Stern appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Mark Hamill appears on the show.

▪️Host Pamela Anderson’s then-husband Tommy Lee appears on the show with her.

▪️Olympics security guard and bombing suspect Richard Jewell appears on the show.

▪️Pro football running back Eric Dickerson appears on the show.

▪️Chicago news reporter Bill Kurtis appears on the show.

▪️Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa from The Lion King) sings “Hakuna Matata” with host Nathan Lane during the opening monologue.

▪️The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders appear on the show.

▪️Jack Nicholson appears on the show with host and As Good as It Gets co-star Helen Hunt.

▪️The “Baseball Dreams” sketch features appearances by pitcher Pedro Borbón Jr., left fielder Marty Cordova, third baseman Russ Davis, pitcher Jeff Fassero, left fielder Cliff Floyd, second baseman and shortstop Mark Grudzielanek, utility man David Howard, catcher Todd Hundley, infielder and left fielder Gregg Jefferies, third baseman Scott Rolen, catcher and first baseman Mike Sweeney, outfielder Gerald Williams, pitcher Mark Wohlers and third and first baseman Todd Zeille.

1998

▪️Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Garth Brooks, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Lawless, Ben Stiller, David Spade, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Vince Vaughn host for the first time.

▪️Missy Elliott, the Backstreet Boys and former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Norm MacDonald is fired during Season 23 with the reason widely believed to be due to MacDonald relentlessly mocking O.J. Simpson (who was a close friend of NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer) during Weekend Update.

▪️Jim Breuer leaves the cast at the end of Season 23.

▪️Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz join the cast at the beginning of Season 24.

▪️Colin Quinn takes over as the anchor of Weekend Update.

▪️The Céline Dion Show makes its debut with Ana Gasteyer impersonating the singer.

▪️Robert Duvall appears on the show.

▪️Harper’s editor Lewis P. Lapham appears on the show.

▪️John Hurt appears on the show during the “Mad Tea Party” sketch as the March Hare.

▪️Didi Conn (Frenchy from Grease) appears on the show.

▪️Actress Natasha Henstridge appears on the show.

▪️Molly Ringwald lends her voice to a TV Funhouse cartoon alongside Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg and Gilbert Gottfried.

▪️Bob Hoskins appears on the show.

▪️Rock band Tenacious D appears on the show.

▪️Host David Duchovny’s X-Files co-star Nicholas Lea appears on the show with him.

▪️Paula Abdul appears on the show.

▪️Matt Lauer and Al Roker appear on the show.

▪️Shaquille O’Neal appears on the show.

▪️Hal Linden and Patti Lupone appear on the show with host Christine Baranski.

▪️Chucky appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Judge Judy appears on the show.

▪️The New York Yankees (pitcher David Cone, outfielder Chili Davis, pitcher Graeme Lloyd, first baseman Tino Martinez and pitcher David Wells) appear on the show.

▪️Brad Pitt appears on the show as host David Spade’s therapist during the cold open.

▪️Host Jennifer Love Hewitt’s I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Muse Watson appears during her monologue in character as Ben.

1999

▪️Bill Paxton, James Van Der Beek, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ray Romano, Cuba Gooding Jr., Heather Graham, Norm MacDonald, Dylan McDermott, Jennifer Aniston and Christina Ricci host for the first time.

▪️Barenaked Ladies, Busta Rhymes, the Roots, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and Eminem perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Rachel Dratch joins the cast during Season 25.

▪️The Boston Teens (Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch) make their first appearance.

▪️Sally O’Malley (Molly Shannon) makes her first appearance.

▪️Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet with Tracy Morgan makes its debut.

▪️Jacob Silj (Will Ferrell) shouts his way through Weekend Update for the first time.

▪️Jerry Seinfeld debates Jerry Seinfeld (Jimmy Fallon) during Weekend Update.

▪️Director James Cameron appears on the show during a parody of Titanic.

▪️Debbie Matenopoulos appears on the show during a parody of The View.

▪️Ben Affleck appears on the show during host Gwyneth Paltrow’s monologue.

▪️George Plimpton appears on the show.

▪️Model Stephanie Seymour appears on the show.

▪️Doris Roberts appears on the show alongside Peter Boyle during host Ray Romano’s monologue.

▪️Edward Norton appears on the show.

▪️Monica Lewinsky appears on the show with the Ladies’ Man to give relationship advice.

▪️Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars David Boreanaz and Seth Green appear during the episode hosted by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

▪️Harold Perrineau, J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters appear on the show during a sketch where Jerry Seinfeld is sent to the prison from Oz.

▪️Television host A.J. Benza and NBC late night executive Rick Ludwin appear on the show.

▪️Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? winner John Carpenter appears on the show.

▪️The Rockettes appear on the show.