The fifth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 13, 1979, and May 24, 1980.
Cast
Repertory players
Jane Curtin
Garrett Morris
Bill Murray
Laraine Newman
Gilda Radner
Harry Shearer (first episode: October 20, 1979; upgraded to repertory status: February 9, 1980) Featured players Peter Aykroyd (first episode: January 26, 1980) Tom Davis Jim Downey (first episode: January 26, 1980) Brian Doyle-Murray (first episode: January 26, 1980) Al Franken Don Novello Tom Schiller (first episode: April 19, 1980) Paul Shaffer (first episode: November 17, 1979) Alan Zweibel (first episode: April 19, 1980)
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Featured cast members announced and shown during the "Opening Introductions" varied from week to week, as noted below in each episode's description.
Writers
As previously mentioned, Michaels upgraded many of the show's writers to cast member status, including Aykroyd, Downey, Doyle-Murray, Novello, Schiller and Zweibel. Doyle-Murray would be the only one to return, as a writer, in the following season.
This season's writers were Peter Aykroyd, Anne Beatts, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Al Franken, Tom Gammill, Lorne Michaels, Matt Neuman, Don Novello, Sarah Paley, Max Pross, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Harry Shearer, Rosie Shuster and Alan Zweibel. The head writer was Herb Sargent.
Episodes
Home media
SNL's fifth season was released on DVD on December 1, 2009. There are no plans to release any further seasons.