Saturday Night Live’s final episode of 2024 inducted its newest member into the elite Five-Timers Club, Martin Short. The popular sketch included a slew of cameos and A-listers, all of whom have hosted the long-running variety sketch series at least five times, hence the club name. If you've ever wondered how this idea came about, former SNL writer Robert Smigel previously explained what inspired the fan-favorite sketches and how Tom Hanks was involved.
Smigel, who served as a writer and producer on Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 2013 and created various characters, took to his Instagram when former SNL cast member Kristen Wiig became a Five-Timers member. He shared a video of Hanks’ monologue for his fifth time hosting in December 1990. In it, Hanks discussed the excitement surrounding hosting SNL, including how special it was to get to host five times. He then joked those who hit the milestone get a card to be in this club. Evidently, Hanks and Conan O’Brien were involved:
Holy crap did this Five Timer's Club thing ever stick... was watching Kristen Wiig GOATin' it up [sic] on [NBC’s SNL] and there it was again. Had to look up the first such sketch, which I wrote with plenty of help from Conan ‘Sean’ O'Brien and others, Lorne Michaels included. It was inspired by [Tom Hanks]' funny/sweet impression of Lorne's all-purpose analysis of how it feels ‘the first time you host the show,’ the 2nd time, the 3rd time, etc. Funny to watch it now and see that idea in there sans Lorne impression. Plus it was parodying something about SNL that Conan and I always laughed about, the push-pull between being cool and being funny.
The Five-Timers Club on SNL has gone on to become a beloved sketch, and whenever a celebrity joins the club, you never know who will be involved. While Hanks inspired the sketch, he actually was not the first person who hit the milestone. Chevy Chase was the first one to host the late night sketch series five times, but Hanks was the first to mention it on the December 8, 1990 episode. Since then, over a dozen celebrities have officially "joined" the Club, both as SNL hosts and musical guests. (Yes, the club includes members like Jack White too.)
Whenever someone does join, you never know who else will be around to induct the newest member. Martin Short’s induction included Tom Hanks, John Mulaney, Melissa McCarthy, Alec Baldwin, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Wiig, Paul Rudd, and Tina Fey, with some of them also appearing in sketches throughout the episode. Who will join the Five-Timers Club next is unknown, but there are bound to be more fun cameos!
Some of the greatest SNL hosts are part of the elite Club, and that list will only grow the longer Saturday Night Live stays on air. Luckily, even with the show in its 50th season, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Even though it will be hard for most to match Baldwin and Steve Martin’s whopping 17-times hosting, it’s always fun to see who will be next and what fan-favorites will return to Studio 8H.
Those with a Peacock subscription can watch all of the Five-Timers sketches since all 50 seasons are streaming, and yes, that includes this most recent episode. Saturday Night Live is on hiatus for a bit for the holidays, but will return on the 2025 TV schedule, and it’s very possible the next Five-Timers inductee could be right around the corner.