Monday, March 17, 2025

SNL 50 Updates: Dan Aykroyd, Bill Hader Will Miss Sunday’s Show, Candice Bergen Will Be In Audience

Just as we feared, two major players have opted out of “SNL 50” this Sunday on NBC.

Original Not for Prime Time Player Dan Aykroyd is not coming to the show. Dan wasn’t featured in the promos which sparked speculation he wasn’t joining in.

On the other hand, Aykroyd has been posting messages to Twitter promoting the show. So it’s not like he doesn’t want to be there. He just can’t.

Is it a health issue? Maybe. Dan also has a strange personal life. So who knows what’s preventing him from joining in? That’s a shame.

Bill Hader has also opted out. This is weird because his signature character, Stefon, was recently voted most popular character ever on the show. Hader’s post “SNL” life includes the HBO series “Barry,” for which he’s won many awards.

Why isn’t Hader coming? Is it a complex problem with Lorne Michaels? Or personal issues? Either way, he will be missed.

I’m also told Candice Bergen has decided to sit in the audience on Sunday and not be part of the show itself. She will be there, however. Bergen was recently on “SNL” as a five time host. She was a host way back at the beginning in the fall of 1975.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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