Despite being one of the most beloved Saturday Night Live cast members of all-time, Bill Hader is not on the list of former stars set to appear during the upcoming special celebrating the sketch comedy show’s 50th anniversary.
Leading up to the Sunday, February 16, event, NBC has announced the dozens of stars who will making appearances, including several SNL alum. Hader was on the show from 2005-2013 and portrayed the fan-favorite Stefon, so his absence from the list of attendees was noteworthy to fans, who expressed their frustration on social media.
“Woke up and bill hader is STILL not in the snl50 cast,” someone wrote on X. Another person wrote, “snl50 this week and bill hader hasnt been announced as a guest yet,” along with an angry GIF, and someone else added, “The @nbcsnl 50 special being on a Sunday night is odd no? Why not Saturday? And where is Bill Hader??”
The @nbcsnl 50 special being on a Sunday night is odd no? Why not Saturday? And where is Bill Hader?? 😭 #SNL50 #Billhader #snl #saturday pic.twitter.com/1TQVgiyLnt
— Becky (@Funny_mommyof3) February 11, 2025
snl50 this week and bill hader hasnt been announced as a guest yet pic.twitter.com/bJKEOd5VwK
— lils (@fclklorevinyl) February 13, 2025
Woke up and bill hader is STILL not in the snl50 cast
— gema (@theeholdovers) February 13, 2025
Some fans are still convinced that Hader will pop up and made a surprise appearance on the show. “bill hader shaved so he’s doing stefon next week,” someone theorized.
bill hader shaved so he’s doing stefon next week pic.twitter.com/lX4YH5NX0z
— gema (@theeholdovers) February 9, 2025
However, the Barry star has been open about the negative effect his time on SNL has had on him. Similar to others who have spoken out about the work environment at SNL, Hader told Variety in 2019, “When I was on SNL, I was a bit of basket case. It could not have been easy on my wife at the time. I was so consumed with work and anxiety. Sometimes I felt like people thought, ‘Oh, he’s just wanting attention or something.’ It was like, ‘No, man, I’m legit. I’m freaking out right now.’”
When he returned to host in 2018, he told Vanity Fair, “My psyche has a hard time not getting crazy anxious about doing that show. Since leaving the show, though, my anxiety’s gotten better.” He also admitted that working on Barry, where he was a writer, director, producer, and actor, was “not as hard as just being a featured player” on SNL.
Although it’s unclear if Hader will be in attendance for SNL 50, there are plenty of big names on the roster. The SNL alum who will be showing up include Laraine Newman, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Molly Shannon, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Pete Davison, Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Kate McKinnon, Andy Sandberg, Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, and Chris Rock.”
Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special, Sunday, February 16, 8 p.m., NBC
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
