Chapter 921: 920 Important Invitation

In the history of American television programs, the historical status and social significance of talk shows are irreplaceable. They are far more than just entertainment.

The fundamental reason lies in how talk shows use a relaxed and humorous approach to delve into life, merging current events and trending phenomena with satire and commentary. They use entertainment as a vessel for education, intertwine with everyday life, and even evolve into a barometer for people’s focus on politics, society, and culture, integrating fully into daily life.

“The Oprah Talk Show,” “The Ellen Show,” “Tonight Show,” “Daily Show,” and so on.

Tonight, Li Wei is about to make his debut on an American television talk show–

What’s more, it’s a live broadcast.

“Saturday Night Live (SNL).

From the name of the show, it’s clear that this is a live talk show airing late on Saturday night, and in New York, it has become a unique part of New York’s Saturday night landscape.

Produced and broadcast by NBC since its premiere in 1975, the show has enjoyed enduring popularity and provocative discussion, becoming one of the longest-running programs in North American television history, remaining evergreen and immensely popular to this day.

The hallmark of this talk show is its ability to blend the hottest current topics with comedic sketches that critique current events. It can also be seen as a mirror for pop culture, mocking phenomena such as fast food culture and the “entertainment till death” mentality.

Of course, because the show airs late at night, the content tends to be a bit edgier, packed with cutting humor and topics that are always trending.

Each episode of “Saturday Night Live” features one performance guest and one musical guest, collaborating to complement each other.

The performance guest is usually a top-tier celebrity or trending public figure–after all, a season typically consists of only twenty-four to twenty-six episodes, so the guest selection process is extremely rigorous. Not just anyone can appear on SNL.

In Hollywood, there’s even a “Five-time Host Club,” which is an honorary group for those who have served as hosts on SNL five times. It represents a major accolade, as these guests have managed to sustain top-level activity for extended periods while continuously driving strong ratings.

Performance guests participate in the sketches, allowing audiences to see a different side of them. The most crucial ability is learning to laugh at oneself and embrace self-mockery–fundamental skills for thriving in a talk show environment.

Musical guests are usually popular singers in their promotional period, performing live renditions of new songs–generally two: one during the intermission and one during the program finale.

The most essential part is that the entire program is conducted live.

Of course, it’s not 100% live.

A small portion of the sketches might require adjustments due to unique circumstances, such as the speed of actor costume changes or major set modifications. These sketches would need to be pre-recorded, but generally speaking, only one to two sketches fall into this category. Most of the show strictly adheres to the live format.

Thus, when actors lose composure and break into laughter during live broadcasts, it becomes a hilarious highlight. It’s at moments like these that the cast’s improvisation and recovery skills are truly put to the test.

Because of the live format, “Saturday Night Live” operates on an intense schedule during its broadcast season, with live airing on Saturdays. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are reserved for scriptwriting–most of the show’s regular cast members are talented comedians, and many scripts are written by them. Writers and actors often swap roles as well.

Wednesday and Thursday are dedicated to rehearsals, while Friday is for final dress rehearsals. During rehearsals, if fresh news or trending topics arise, the team must adjust the scripts in real-time.

It’s truly a nonstop, high-speed operation with no downtime.

As a performance guest, to ensure the smooth execution of the live broadcast, they are required to arrive in New York at least two days in advance for rehearsals with the show’s team.

Only under extremely rare circumstances would a performance guest rehearse just one day prior. In such cases, the team has to adjust the live broadcast, limiting the guest’s roles to non-speaking parts while giving the main performance responsibilities to the regular cast members.

As the United States’ most prestigious and influential talk show, “Saturday Night Live” stands out in that other talk shows focus more on interviews and discussions, while SNL emphasizes performances and sketches. This also means that for professional athletes, it’s an exceptional opportunity to showcase their personality.

A plethora of top basketball, baseball, and hockey stars have graced the stage of “Saturday Night Live,” and football is no exception.

Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Tom Brady have all been invited to appear on SNL as performance guests, especially after winning the Super Bowl.

In this context, the invitation itself signifies recognition, reward, and honor.

Super Bowl champions are crowned every year, but not every year sees a football player invited to “Saturday Night Live.”

This year, Li Wei received the invitation.

The key detail? They invited Li Wei, not quarterback Mahomes.

This marks significant progress and subtly underscores the rising prominence of Li Wei across the North American continent.

Nonetheless, this honor also comes with challenges.

Live performances are no walk in the park.

In football games, it’s common for players to underperform during night games broadcasted live, let alone a comedic performance that has nothing to do with football–two entirely different worlds.

Difficult. As difficult as reaching for the stars.

Due to this, Li Wei has been exceptionally busy over the past three days.

From Wednesday and Thursday rehearsals to Friday’s dress rehearsal, Li Wei poured himself into preparations for SNL. Only after completing all the preparation work did he attend the meticulously planned charity event.

Then, on Saturday morning, Li Wei headed to NBC Studios bright and early to prepare for tonight’s live broadcast, observing the highest standards and staying on edge.

It’s precisely because of this that a reporter posed the earlier question–

Did Ariana lend a hand?

Ariana has appeared on SNL multiple times as a musical guest and made her debut as a performance guest in March 2016.

The reporter’s question was less about Ariana’s involvement and more about her rumored connection with Li Wei.

Unfortunately for them, Li Wei didn’t take the bait.

Justin Timberlake, a distinguished member of the “Five-time Host Club,” would clearly be a more appropriate figure for Li Wei to seek advice from if he genuinely needed suggestions.

With just one response, Li Wei defeated the reporter’s angle entirely.

And then… there was no follow-up.

Li Wei smoothly evaded the reporter’s ambush and entered the nearby Blackstone Building to prepare for tonight’s live broadcast.

The “zombies” reluctantly dispersed after failing to get their story, knowing there was a full day ahead before the live broadcast at 11 p.m. They could easily focus on other pursuits and return to Blackstone Building at night for another attempt at intercepting Li Wei after the show.

But–

Not a single person left. They roamed the building’s entrance restlessly, curiosity eating away at them as they wondered: what’s happening on the inside right now?