‘SNL’ Star Spills Show’s Secrets Ahead of 50th Season’s Premiere

Ahead of its 50th season premiere tonight, Saturday Night Live star Ego Nwodim dished on a “not-so-secret” tactic that allows the live weekly show to run smoothly at breakneck speed.

“It’s scripted, our show,” she told People. “We read off the cue cards.”

Apparently, some viewers who discover this are surprised, but Nwodim said she is baffled that people think the show could function otherwise.

“People are always like, ‘They’re reading off the cards,’” she said. “Guys, we’re supposed to read off the cards. We’re doing a live show. These sketches change up until the minute we put them up.”

For instance, in the iconic “Lisa from Temecula” sketch, there was “a whole chunk of that sketch that got taken out minutes before we put it up,” Nwodim explained. “The writers didn’t even get a chance to find me to tell me that it was taken out.”

Nwodim added that she doesn’t think SNL would be the success it is if its actors didn’t use the cue cards.

“We have to rely on the cards,” she said. “We would be doing ourselves and the show and sketches a disservice if we weren’t actually using their cards.”

For the start of the long-running show’s new season tonight at 11:30 p.m. (ET) on NBC, Nwodim also teased a hint of what’s in store for viewers this time around.

For one, she said that SNL’s producers have been working hard to make the major anniversary year special.

“It’s going to be like the wedding of your dreams. It’s like your dad’s 50th birthday party or something,” said Nwodim. “I think it’s going to be really special. What I can say is they’re going out of their way and being really meticulous and thoughtful about who they have show up. And so, I know they’re very excited.”