Saturday Night Live Season 5 (1979)

Saturday Night Live Season 5 (1979)

Saturday Night Live Season 5 continues the series with a fresh chapter, bringing its familiar characters into new situations while developing the story established in earlier seasons.

Season 5

Saturday Night Live aired its fifth season during the 1979–1980 television season on NBC, and also the final season with the original cast. This fifth season started on October 13, 1979 and ended on May 24, 1980. SNL's fifth season was released on DVD on December 1, 2009.nnJohn Belushi and Dan Aykroyd left the show at the end of the fourth season, leaving a void in the cast that most fans thought would be the beginning of the end of the late-night sketch show.nnTo keep the show going, Lorne Michaels upgraded many of the show's writers to cast member status: Peter Aykroyd, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Don Novello, Tom Schiller and Alan Zweibel. Band leader Paul Shaffer also joined the cast, becoming the first person from the SNL band to become a cast member. Harry Shearer joined the show as a featured cast member and was promoted to repertory status during the season.nnThis would be the final season for everyone in the cast. Tom Davis and Downey would return to the show in future seasons as writers. Al Franken, Doyle-Murray, Novello, and Shearer would rejoin the cast in future seasons.

What to Expect

The season builds on the show's central themes and relationships while introducing new challenges. As the story develops, the characters must respond to changing circumstances and the consequences of their previous choices.

Final Thoughts

Saturday Night Live Season 5 adds another chapter to the series, continuing its established world while giving the characters new conflicts and opportunities to evolve.