I’ve Been to ‘Saturday Night Live’ 21 Times—Here Are 7 Insider Tips to Score a Ticket

For more than five decades, the most coveted ticket in New York City has been a seat to watch the legendary sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live tape inside 30 Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H. But the privilege is one that money literally can’t buy—the only way to earn a spot is with a stroke of luck. 

I started entering its annual lottery as a casual fan decades ago when it was still done by mailing in postcards, but I never scored a ticket. So in February 2022, I poured all my efforts into navigating the alternative way through the standby line—and made it inside to watch John Mulaney’s “Five-timers Club” episode with my very own eyes. 

Though it was meant to be one-and-done, I instead found such a community on the sidewalk outside on 49th Street, that I started going regularly. Though I’ve since mostly retired from the three-tier process, I did join as a plus-one this past Saturday and found myself in the famous bleachers watching one of my favorite hosts, Ryan Gosling—only to be completely awestruck to see my other favorite host, Harry Styles, sitting in the audience during Gosling’s monologue as well.

And that’s what makes navigating the complicated process of getting into SNL so thrilling—it’s never what you expect, and there’s a pretty surefire chance you just might witness a pop culture moment unravel right in front of you.

While the top tip is to always check the official instructions on NBC’s tickets page for updates, here are a few other tricks to better your chances of hearing “Live from New York” in real life.

Try Your Luck in the Lottery 

For the month of August, SNL opens its inbox for fans to send an email to [email protected] with your first and last name and the reason you’d like to be part of the audience at some point during the upcoming season. 

As with so much of the process, there’s a lot of mystery around the selection. I’ve heard some say that they happened to mention a favorite celebrity who ended up hosting and later received tickets for that week. Others have reported randomly being selected weeks in advance, while some get their notice days before the show.

Learn the SNL Standby Line Process 

The SNL season usually starts in early October and runs through mid-May, typically with about 20 episodes, clustered into three consecutive weeks, followed by hiatuses of varying lengths. But there are always exceptions—like this year with the Winter Olympics—so check SNL’s social media to see if they’ve announced the host to guarantee that it’s a show week. 

If there is a show, then the standby line process will be in motion. Since every seat in the studio needs to be occupied, the line is used to fill in the empty seats. That means nothing is guaranteed until you’re actually sitting in the studio.

The three-day process starts on the Thursday before the show with a virtual standby reservation drop exactly at 10 a.m. ET. There’s the option to choose from the dress rehearsal, which starts at 8 p.m. and the live show, which starts at 11:30 p.m. Usually, 300 spots are given out for each. By the end of the day, you’ll receive an email telling you what number you are in line.

If you snag a great number, then it’s worth your time to proceed to the Friday physical line, where you check-in before 7 p.m. and wait outside until 12:01 a.m., when numbered standby cards are handed out. 

Finally, on Saturday nights, you’ll line up in The Shop at NBC Studios in order of the numbers on your cards. The NBC pages will monitor how many seats are open, and fill the audience bit by bit.

Check for Updates 

While the method has been pretty consistent, there are always exceptions. During some recent extreme weather conditions, the Friday line wait was cut short. (That said, I have waited in the rain and in below-freezing temperatures.) On a rare week, the method switched to sending an email instead of using the system. All that is to say, always check the official page for weekly updates. 

There’s also a robust online community, these days mostly on Reddit, which can help navigate the situation that particular week. 

Prep for the Thursday Countdown

There’s nothing more crucial than getting a low number during the Thursday reservation window. These days, the competition is so tough that they tend to book up within seconds, often causing online hiccups. But keep trying until it says it’s full.

l usually pull up time.gov to count down the seconds, and load the page a split second before 10 a.m. While there are no surefire tricks, I’ve heard of people closing all their other computer tabs and sitting closer to the router for a faster connection. In extreme cases, I’ve heard of people screen-recording the process to “study” where to click and what to fill in.

Be ready to enter your first name, last name, email address, and choose from either one or two tickets, plus check off a box. Every millisecond matters.

Know the Odds 

Technically speaking, SNL has no obligation to let anyone in from the standby line. In recent weeks, roughly 60 to 90 people tend to get in. That can change based on different factors, including the host or musical guest (expect Harry Styles doing double duty this week to be one of the toughest ever!) or the weather on Friday night for the five-hour wait al fresco. 

My personal opinion is that you want your Thursday digital reservation number to be less than 100 for it to be worth your time to go to the Friday line. That said, not everyone shows up on Fridays, so your number will usually drop. I’ve heard of folks with mid-to high-100s getting in during certain weeks—or even in a rare case, the entire Friday night line. 

Even if you don’t get a number on Thursday, you can still join the back of the line on Friday. Chances are slim, but as they say, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. 

For the season finale last year with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny, I got a digital reservation of 52 and ended up with the card number 38, while for the season premiere with Bad Bunny hosting (yes, I am obsessed with him on SNL) and Doja Cat, I had the digital number 66 and card number 33. Though my skills aren’t as sharp as they used to be, in my more frequent days, I did manage to score single digits to Sydney Sweeney and Mulaney’s sixth hosting gig. During the Austin Butler show in December 2022, I was told I was the last one in at number 61. It’s a roll of the dice every week.

Follow Every Rule

Since there’s such a cachet to getting into SNL—and because it spans such a diverse range of fans (though you do have to be at least 16 to attend)—the competition is tough, so don’t skirt the rules. 

Give yourself plenty of time on Friday to make sure you’re settled into your spot in line ahead of the 7 p.m. check-in, when the NBC pages will check your IDs and email reservations. Around the holidays, Rockefeller Center can be especially crowded, so build in a buffer. I’ve seen people miss the cut-off numerous times.

The same goes for the Saturday line—the current check-in cut-off times as of this past week were 6:30 p.m. for dress rehearsal and 9:45 p.m. for the live show. 

While many prefer being in the audience for the actual show, I always enjoy “dress,” as the regulars call it, since you usually see about three extra sketches that no one else in the world will ever see again. Case in point: I saw “Beavis and Butt-Head 2” during dress rehearsal last week, and the rest of the world didn’t.

Have Fun!

Though there is a certain amount of anxiety going through this entire process for something that may not even happen, there is also camaraderie in bonding with a diverse group of strangers going through all the hurdles together. So bring a foldable chair, dress for the weather, pack a friendly attitude, and enjoy yourself!

Not only have I made some fabulous friends, but I’ve gotten way more invested in the SNL community than I ever expected (a standby connection led to me being a Saturday Night Network podcast panelist!), and I even randomly ran into an out-of-town standby neighbor when I was in Dollywood interviewing Dolly Parton.

While the shared goal may be to sit down inside of Studio 8H, the greater New York City adventure just might be outside on the street beneath its famous marquee.