2010

▪️Zach Galifianakis, Gabourey Sidibe, Betty White, Amy Poehler, Bryan Cranston, Jane Lynch, Emma Stone and Jeff Bridges host for the first time.

▪️Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, Kesha, MGMT, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Florence + the Machine perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Will Forte and Jenny Slate leave the cast at the end of Season 35.

▪️Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain, Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah join the cast at the beginning of Season 36.

▪️Heather Anne Campbell and Sarah Schneider are hired as writers.

▪️The Devil (Jason Sudeikis) makes his first appearance.

▪️Second-hand news correspondent Anthony Crispino (Bobby Moynihan) makes his first appearance.

▪️Passionate but untalented child actress Laura Parsons (Vanessa Bayer) makes her first appearance.

▪️Elderly news reporter Herb Welch (Bill Hader) makes his first appearance.

▪️Principal Daniel Frye (Jay Pharoah) makes his first appearance.

▪️The Miley Cyrus Show makes its debut.

▪️Les Jeunes de Paris makes its debut.

▪️The Essentials with Robert Osborne (Jason Sudeikis) makes its debut.

▪️Jane Krakowski, Dr. Oz, Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto appear together in a Digital Short.

▪️Frank Rich appears on the show.

▪️New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez appears on the show.

▪️New York governor David Patterson appears on the show.

▪️Peter Sarsgard appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Ernest Borgnine and Morgan Freeman appear on the show together.

▪️Helen Mirren appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Chef Mario Batali appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Cookie Monster appears on the show.

▪️Jessica Alba appears in a Digital Short.

2011

▪️Jesse Eisenberg, Russell Brand, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Helen Mirren, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy, Charlie Day, Jason Segel, Katy Perry and Jimmy Fallon host for the first time.

▪️Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Lady Antebellum, Foster the People and Drake perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Chris Kelly is hired as a writer.

▪️Triangle Sally (Kristen Wiig) makes her first appearance.

▪️Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy (Vanessa Bayer) makes his first appearance.

▪️The Dictator’s Two Best Friends from Growing Up (Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armisen) make their first appearance.

▪️Drunk Uncle (Bobby Moynihan) makes his first appearance.

▪️The Merryville Carnival Ride sketch makes its debut.

▪️Get in the Cage! with Nicolas Cage (Andy Samberg) makes its debut.

▪️J-Pop America Fun Time Now makes its debut.

▪️Anderson Cooper appears in a Digital Short alongside Pee-wee Herman.

▪️Mark Zuckerberg appears in the episode hosted by Jesse Eisenberg.

▪️John Waters appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Carmelo Anthony appears on the show.

▪️Robin Wright appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Chris Colfer and Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham appear on the show together.

▪️Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) appears on the show.

▪️Kenny G appears on the show.

▪️Andrew Garfield appears on the show during host Emma Stone’s opening monologue.

▪️The Muppets Miss Piggy, Rowlf, Scooter, Camilla, Statler and Waldorf appear on the show for the first time.

▪️Utah governor and 2012 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Olivia Wilde appears in a Digital Short.

2012

▪️Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum, Zooey Deschanel, Maya Rudolph, Sofia Vergara, Eli Manning, Mick Jagger, Seth MacFarlane, Daniel Craig, Bruno Mars, Louis C.K. and Jeremy Renner host for the first time.

▪️Lana Del Rey, One Direction, Gotye, Frank Ocean, Mumford & Suns and Ne-Yo perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Paul Brittain leaves the cast during Season 37.

▪️Kate McKinnon joins the cast during Season 37.

▪️Abby Elliott, Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig leave the cast at the end of Season 37.

▪️Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong join the cast at the beginning of Season 38.

▪️Neil Casey is hired as a writer.

▪️The Californians make their first appearance.

▪️The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party (Cecily Strong) makes her first appearance.

▪️Regine (Fred Armisen) makes her first appearance.

▪️Sheila Sovage (Kate McKinnon) hooks up with a stranger at a bar for the first time.

▪️Girlfriends Talk Show makes its debut.

▪️Vanessa Bayer and Cecily Strong play former porn stars in a commercial for the first time.

▪️Jean Dujardin appears on the show.

▪️Bill O’Reilly and Kate Upton appear on the show together.

▪️Steven Spielberg appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Eli Manning’s NY Giants teammates Chris Snee, David Baas, David Diehl and Shaun O’Hara appear together in the episode hosted by Manning.

▪️Psy makes a surprise cameo and sings “Gangnam Style.”

▪️Big Bird appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Usain Bolt appears on the show.

▪️New Jersey governor Chris Christie appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️2 Chainz appears on the show during host Jamie Foxx’s opening monologue.

▪️Dermot Mulroney appears on the show.

▪️Carrie Brownstein appears on the show.

2013

▪️Jennifer Lawrence, Adam Levine, Justin Bieber, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Hart, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Kerry Washington, Lady Gaga and Josh Hutcherson host for the first time.

▪️Kendrick Lamar, Alabama Shakes, Macklemore, Janelle Monáe and Haim perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Tim Robinson and Jason Sudeikis leave the cast at the end of Season 38.

▪️Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Mike O’Brien, Noël Wells and Brooks Wheelan join the cast at the beginning of Season 39.

▪️Michael Che and Mikey Day are hired as writers.

▪️Cecily Strong joins Weekend Update as Seth Meyers’ co-anchor.

▪️Olya Povlatsky (Kate McKinnon) makes her first appearance.

▪️Stand-up comedian Bruce Chandling (Kyle Mooney) makes his first appearance.

▪️1860s newspaper critic Jebediah Atkinson (Taran Killam) makes his first appearance.

▪️Mr. Patterson (Beck Bennett) the Man with the Body of a Baby makes his first appearance.

▪️Cinema Classics with Reese De’What (Kenan Thompson) makes its debut.

▪️Family Feud with Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) is parodied for the first time.

▪️Danny McBride appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Peter Dinklage appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones appears on the show.

▪️Nikolas Coster-Waldau appears on the show.

▪️Sonic Youth bassist and vocalist Kim Gordon, Aimee Mann, J Mascis and Michael Penn appear on the show together with Carrie Brownstein.

▪️Aaron Paul appears on the show in character as Jesse from Breaking Bad.

▪️Barry Gibb appears on the show.

▪️New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg appears on the show during Weekend Update.

2014

▪️Drake, Jim Parsons, Lena Dunham, Anna Kendrick, Andrew Garfield, Andy Samberg, Chris Pratt, Sarah Silverman, Bill Hader and Martin Freeman host for the first time.

▪️Imagine Dragons, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, St. Vincent, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Sasheer Zamata joins the cast during Season 39.

▪️Seth Meyers leaves the cast during Season 39.

▪️Colin Jost joins the cast after Seth Meyers leaves and takes over as Cecily Strong’s co-anchor on Weekend Update.

▪️John Milhiser, Mike O’Brien, Nasim Pedrad, Noël Wells and Brooks Wheelan leave the cast at the end of Season 39.

▪️Michael Che and Pete Davidson join the cast at the beginning of Season 40.

▪️Leslie Jones, who is initially hired as a writer, appears on Weekend Update for the first time during Season 39 and later joins the cast during Season 40.

▪️Alison Rich and Natasha Rothwell are hired as writers.

▪️Michael Che joins Weekend Update as Colin Jost’s co-anchor.

▪️Darrell Hammond replaces announcer Don Pardo, who died in August, at the beginning of Season 40.

▪️The episode hosted by Chris Rock marked Prince’s final television performance before his death in 2016.

▪️Cathy Anne (Cecily Strong) makes her first appearance.

▪️Treece Henderson (Kenan Thompson) and his band make their first appearance.

▪️Michael Che’s neighbor Willie (Kenan Thompson) makes his first appearance on Weekend Update.

▪️Black Jeopardy! makes its debut.

▪️High schooler Chris Fitzpatrick (Kyle Mooney) introduces his home-made videos.

▪️Whiskers R We makes its debut.

▪️High School Theater Show makes its debut.

▪️Leonardo DiCaprio appears on the show during host Jonah Hill’s opening monologue.

▪️Michael Cera appears on the show.

▪️Hans Zimmer conducts the orchestra during musical guest Pharrell Williams’ performance of “Marilyn Monroe.”

▪️Icona Pop appears on the show.

▪️Mary Lynn Rajskub appears on the show alongside her 24 co-star Keifer Sutherland.

▪️Barbara Walters appears on the show during Weekend Update.

▪️Lil Jon appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Tatiana Maslany appears in a Digital Short.

▪️Harvey Fierstein appears on the show during host Bill Hader’s opening monologue.

▪️Liam Hemsworth appears on the show during host Woody Harrelson’s opening monologue alongside their Hunger Games co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence.

▪️Uzo Aduba appears on the show in character as Crazy Eyes from Orange Is the New Black.

▪️Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) appears on the show.

2015

▪️Blake Shelton, J.K. Simmons, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Taraji P. Henson, Amy Schumer, Elizabeth Banks and Ryan Gosling host for the first time.

▪️Sia, Blake Shelton, Carly Rae Jepsen, Wiz Khalifa, The Weeknd, Demi Lovato and Chance the Rapper perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Jon Rudnitsky joins the cast at the beginning of Season 41.

▪️Riblet (Bobby Moynihan) makes his first appearance.

▪️The Totino’s Lady (Vanessa Bayer) makes her first appearance.

▪️Gemma (Cecily Strong) makes her first appearance.

▪️Colleen Rafferty (Kate McKinnon) gets interrogated about a paranormal encounter for the first time.

▪️The Bachelor is parodied in the Hunk sketch for the first time.

▪️The Citizens Forum makes its debut.

▪️Luke Hemsworth appears on the show during host Chris Hemsworth’s opening monologue.

▪️Norman Reedus appears on the show in character as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead during Weekend Update.

▪️Elmo, Count von Count, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Bert, Ernie and Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street appear on the show for the first time.

▪️The Flaming Lips appear on the show playing backup for Miley Cyrus during her performance of “Karen Don’t Be Sad.”

▪️J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega appear on the show during the Star Wars audition sketch.

▪️Gayle King appears on the show.

2016

▪️Adam Driver, Ronda Rousey, Larry David, Ariana Grande, Peter Dinklage, Russell Crowe, Brie Larson, Fred Armisen, Margot Robbie, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Blunt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dave Chappelle, John Cena and Casey Affleck host for the first time.

▪️Selena Gomez, Future, A Tribe Called Quest and Shawn Mendes perform as musical guests for the first time.

▪️Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky leave the cast at the end of Season 41.

▪️Mikey Day, Alex Moffat and Melissa Villaseñor join the cast at the beginning of Season 42.

▪️Julio Torres and Anna Drezen are hired as writers.

▪️Chad (Pete Davidson) makes his first appearance.

▪️Elderly actress Debette Goldry (Kate McKinnon) makes her first appearance.

▪️Matt Schatt (Mikey Day) makes his first appearance.

▪️David S. Pumpkins (Tom Hanks) makes his first appearance.