Saturday Night Live now holds TV’s all-time record for the most Emmy wins. The NBC series, which is about to enter its milestone 50th season, currently boasts a total of 101 Emmys (including one honorary one), beating out Game of Thrones’ impressive 59 statuettes.
With the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony just days away, it’s a perfect time to look back on SNL’s very first win. In 1976, the show—then less than a year old and still titled NBC’s Saturday Night—took home Outstanding Comedy, Variety Or Music Series at the 28th Primetime Emmy Awards.
SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who was 31 years old at the time, accepted the award on the show’s behalf and gave a speech thanking the numerous people behind its success. “I want to thank Milton Berle for warming up the studio in New York,” he said. “I would like to thank the people at NBC, most notably Dick Ebersol, who was there at the beginning and supported us all along.”
Naturally, the SNL boss made sure to inject a little humor—and some snark—into his speech. “I’d also like to thank the city of New York for the correct combination of rejection and alienation, which keeps the comedy spirit alive,” he joked, earning laughs from the crowd. “I’d like to thank the best production staff—a lot of old-timers who worked in live television and neglected to mention what it was like before we started.”
Michaels then thanked the SNL writing staff, everyone involved in the show’s production, and his manager Bernie Brillstein. He also gave a shout-out to his family, “who were always there when I was complaining and yelling about the very people I’m thanking tonight.”
SNL is once again up for several Emmy Awards this year. On top of the show’s nomination for Outstanding Variety Series, Bowen Yang is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, Ryan Gosling is up for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for his hosting gig, and Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph will go head-to-head for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy. The series already took home six Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend.
The Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday, September 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC; it will also be available to stream on Hulu the following day. SNL Season 50 kicks off September 28.
