The 10 Craziest Things We Learned From Peacock's New 'SNL' Docuseries

Saturday Night Live turns the big 5-0 this year and to celebrate, the cast and crew of the beloved NBC series have come together to discuss the legacy of the long-running program in a brand-new docuseries, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. Now streaming on Peacock, the four-part doc delves deep into SNL's decades-spanning history, with standalone episodes spotlighting the cast audition process, a typical week for sketch writers, iconic bits like "More Cowbell" and the infamously "weird" Season 11.

Executive-producer Morgan Neville, the Academy and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker behind documentaries Piece by Piece and 20 Feet From Stardom, helmed SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. Packed with behind-the-scenes footage, the series also features interviews with some the franchise's most famous figures, including former cast members and writers like Amy Poehler, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan, Larry David, Tina Fey and John Mulaney, as well as the show's legendary creator, Lorne Michaels.

All of that direct access means the docuseries offers up plenty of surprising stories and insights about Saturday Night Live. Here are 10 of the wildest things we learned from the new doc.

🤩 📺 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter & get the scoop on the latest TV news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🤩🎥

10 Craziest Things We Learned from SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night

1. Kristen Wiig auditioned with her Target Lady character

Unsurprisingly, auditioning for a program as popular and iconic as SNL is a daunting prospect for any aspiring comedy star. However, even through the nerves, some aspiring cast members manage to introduce iconic characters in their auditions. Notable example: Kristen Wiig. "Every character that Kristen Wiig auditioned with has been on television," said Michael Shoemaker, SNL producer from 1990 to 2019, in the doc's first episode. Yes, that includes famously silly creations like the Target Lady ("Approved!") and Aunt Linda, a perpetually annoyed film critic who would pop up at the "Weekend Update" desk with her cantankerous movie opinions. No wonder Wiig was cast on the show.

2. Current cast members recommend new cast members

NBC casts the net wide when hiring new players for Saturday Night Live, and that includes getting recommendations from existing cast members, crew and celebrity friends of the show. Per the doc, Andy Samberg was hired because Jimmy Fallon recommended him; Amy Poehler revealed that "Tina [Fey] got me the job"; and Maya Rudolph was a referral from Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow.

3. One comedian auditioned completely naked

Though many performers have auditioned for SNL over the years, only a few make a truly memorable impression, and actor-comedian Henry Zebrowski certainly was one such tryout. He showed up on the Studio 8H stage completely naked. "It was such a shock, and also, like I'm not even sure, I have no idea what he did at that point. Who remembers what he did, the naked guy," producer Lindsay Shookus recounted. "But he was the naked guy. He didn't get hired, but not because he got naked."

Related: 10 Famous Comedians Who Auditioned for 'SNL' But Didn't Make the Cut

4. The writers direct their own sketches

The second installment of the docuseries follows the fast-paced schedule that the SNL writers have to contend with every week as they create the sketches that will, hopefully, make it to air every Saturday night. Viewers may be surprised at how involved the scribes are with the production of their sketches.

"In addition to writing the sketches, you also give notes to the performer and the hosts are sometimes Oscar Award-winning actors," said current writer Ben Marshall. "It could be a weird dynamic, having some 25-year-old kid being like 'Dude, you're not doing it right." Tina Fey, though, offered up a charming anecdote about having to tell host Sylvester Stallone to enunciate better in sketches: "It's a great trial by fire. Mr. Stallone was very nice about it, clearly not the first time in his life."

5. Tina Fey wants the show to be more competitive

Speaking of Ms. Fey, the TV icon acknowledged that, though working on SNL is an incredibly collaborative experience, it does come with a healthy dose of competitiveness among the staff writers. "As head writer, I felt like I came in from Chicago and I was, like, ready to fight whoever," Fey said in Episode 2. "The rewrite tables were tough, they were grouchy. People would take the rundown of the show and just go sketch by sketch and make fun of it...you would leave the room fully knowing that the writers' room was taking a sh** on it while you were gone. And it just was kind of the way it was."

But that doesn't mean Fey didn't thrive on the competition. "I don't know if it's the same anymore. And if it's not, maybe it should get that way again," she cheekily added. "I think it's good!"

6. There's a "doomed" corner of Studio 8H called "Shitcan Alley"

Apparently, not every corner of the SNL studios is created equally. In the third episode of the docuseries, cast and crew members discussed an area of Studio 8H that was popularly referred to as "Shitcan Alley" because it was set far from the live audience and in a place where only the television cameras could see it. "A lot of sketches that played there died," said head production designer Keith Raywood, adding that the section was also often called the "Coffin Corner." However, "Shitcan Alley" did produce some success stories: the original "Wayne's World" sketch was set there, as was the viral "More Cowbell" bit.

Related: Meet the Cast of 'SNL' Season 50

7. The "More Cowbell" skit didn't originally feature any cowbell

You remember the bit: Cast members Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell, Chris Kattan and Jimmy Fallon as the hard-rock band Blue Öyster Cult whose recording of their 1976 track "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" keeps getting derailed by Ferrell's overly enthusiastic cowbell playing. However, originally, the sketch didn't feature a cowbell at all. Instead, Ferrell's initial script saw his character Gene Frenkle playing a wood block. The SNL star later rewrote it to fit Christopher Walken's unique vocal delivery. "We would not be talking about the sketch today if it was Christopher Walken saying, 'I need more wood block'," culture reporter Dave Itzkoff declares in the documentary.

Related: 'SNL's 'More Cowbell' Skit Didn't Originally Feature Any Cowbell

8. Lorne Michaels took a five-year hiatus from the show

Saturday Night Live and Lorne Michaels are basically synonymous — the Toronto-born writer-producer created the sketch-comedy series in 1975 and has been at its helm for the majority of its 50 years. However, in the early '80s, Michaels did briefly leave the series for different pastures, namely the big screen. He had a three-picture deal with Warner Brothers and created the entertainment studio Broadway Video, which would go on to produce successful movies like Wayne's World, Tommy Boy and Mean Girls. Back at 30 Rock, Lorne was replaced as showrunner by Jean Doumanian, who was then replaced by Dick Ebersol. Michaels would return to captain the ship in 1985 and has remained SNL showrunner ever since.

9. Damon Wayans tried to get fired from SNL

Season 11 shook up Saturday Night Live in many ways, with Lorne Michaels bringing in new, younger talent like Robert Downey, Jr., Michael C. Hall, Joan Cusack and Damon Wayans as featured players. And the latter talent certainly did some shaking up of his own, when he got fired after just eleven episodes for going rogue during a live sketch, playing a cop character as way more flamboyant and effeminate than he did during dress rehearsal.

"Lorne pretty much fired him as soon as he walked off the stage," that week's guest host Griffin Dunn revealed in the doc. However, Wayans added: "I purposefully did that because I wanted [Lorne' to fire me," citing lack of screen time as his reason for wanting to leave the show. Michaels, though, reportedly didn't like to fire people, so he invited Damon to come back and do stand-up on the show at the season's end. "Lorne is a very forgiving man, and I think he just wanted to let me know that he believed in me," Wayans said.

10. Francis Ford Coppola directed an episode of the show

Yes, that Francis Ford Coppola. In one of the "big swings" that Lorne Michaels and co. took in the wacky eleventh season, The Godfather great was invited to take full creative control of an episode. "I'm a huge fan, huge. But I wasn't expecting him to really direct," said George Wendt, the guest host of that ep. "It was daunting." Coppola kicked off the episode by announcing to the audience: "This show tonight is going to be my ode to live television." That hilariously meant eerie Philip Glass music, second "takes" of jokes and "live" ammo to give "a sense of danger."

Related: 'SNL' Reveals Next Two Hosts and Musical Guests for Season 50