- Getting tickets for NBC's "Saturday Night Live" is competitive and can require waiting in lines.
- I've seen the show live three times and have both waited only 20 minutes and camped out overnight.
- You're not guaranteed a spot in the "SNL" audience until you're physically in a seat.
For nearly two decades, I lusted after tickets to a "Saturday Night Live" taping — some of the most coveted in New York City.
Tickets to the NBC show can't be bought, no matter how much money you're willing to shell out. The free tickets can only be won through a lottery or scored using strategy and time commitment.
I'd entered the annual lottery almost every August since it was done via postcards but never heard a peep. So earlier this year, I took a dive into a world I'd only heard of in passing — the "SNL" standby line, the ticketless hopefuls willing to wait it out to fill in any empty spots in the audience.
Since then, I've scored a seat in Rockefeller Center's Studio 8H three times.
Getting 'SNL' tickets is a game of chance
The standby-line process is always evolving and can ultimately depend on how popular a guest is.
For example, when Harry Styles was hosting, fans famously camped out for four frigid nights in 2019 (while eating kiwis sent by the singer). In November, people waiting for tickets reportedly swarmed the studio building when Taylor Swift was the musical guest.
The number of available tickets can also vary, though the theater typically fits about 300 audience members.
According to the "SNL Standby Line" podcast — run by Jill Goucher and Amanda Scott, who have both been to over 50 shows — about 40 to 80 people from standby typically get into the dress rehearsal and 40 to 80 into the live show.
"Each week the numbers vary and sometimes it's 200 people from the line and sometimes it's only 50 people from the line," Goucher told Insider. "All you can do is take the risk and try — don't try to count on previous week's numbers."
The process starts with a virtual queue
As detailed on the NBC Tickets page, the current process starts with the virtual standby-reservation line. To get on it, you send your name to the listed email between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST the Thursday before there's a show.
Within six hours, the first 500 get an email with their place in the virtual line.
The Thursday before the John Mulaney-hosted show in February, I pulled up a universal clock with ticking seconds, hit "send" one second past 10 a.m., and got no. 83.
The following week, I didn't wait the extra second and got no. 78 for Oscar Isaac. I've continued trying every Thursday, learning that host popularity (and my email's lag time) makes a big difference.
I was no. 120 for Zoë Kravitz, 65 for Jake Gyllenhaal, and 188 for Lizzo — but I chose not to camp out for those weeks.
Camping out is the most grueling part — and standby-line regulars have some of the best tips
Those who get a virtual queue number get to be at the front of the in-person line for tickets. They must report to the NBC Studios marquee on 49th Street between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, the night before the show.
They'll likely want to prepare for an overnight stay because the standby line cards are handed out at 7 a.m. on Saturday.
After receiving my number for the Mulaney-hosted show, I arrived outside the studio with camping gear as I prepared to spend 12 hours sleeping on the sidewalk in 20 degrees Fahrenheit for that coveted standby card.
After an NBC Page checked my queue number and proof of vaccination, I was guided to a different spot in line based on my virtual-line number.
The line officially closes at 7 p.m. Anyone who arrives after that or doesn't have a virtual number can join the back of the queue any time before 7 a.m.
Reasonable breaks are allowed to grab food and use the restroom — a surprisingly clean one is right down the stairs in Rockefeller Center. It's closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., which means there's serious strategizing involved to avoid late-night hunts for a toilet.
The NBC site provides the rules, but Goucher and Scott's "SNL Standby Line" podcast is the ultimate resource for practical advice. The pair went to their first show together in 2017, eventually starting a podcast that's now backed by longtime cast member Kenan Thompson's production company.
Even with that connection, they spend Friday nights camping on the street to be able to spend Saturday nights in the studio while also tweeting line counts for anyone hoping to snag last-minute tickets. They even once waited 103 hours in line when BTS were musical guests in 2019.
Still, the weather is often the biggest challenge.
"We've had times where we've been soaked in a downpour, including all our sleeping equipment, and times where we've been caught in snow and sleet storms," Scott told Insider, adding that being "unprepared" is the most common rookie mistake. "A lot of people actually end up leaving. It is definitely not an easy thing to do … especially because the majority of the season happens during the winter months."
Although the NBC site says you're not supposed to bring sleeping bags or tents, no one stopped me or many others from using sleeping bags in February. When I asked the NBC Pages if my sleeping bag was OK, they just said they "want everyone to be comfortable."
"SNL" also kindly sent out warm soup for those of us waiting in line, though regulars told me that's a rarity.
I also scrolled through Reddit for tips before I left — one user said to wear multiple layers of underwear, which seemed excessive. But I was grateful I'd listened come 2 a.m. when I was shivering under a sleeping bag, tarp, and heat sheet while wearing heated gloves, 10 layers on top, and five layers on the bottom.
In the middle of the night, I noticed a group with lay-down cots and insulated sleeping bags, looking as if they were in the warmest of hotel rooms.
It turns out it was Goucher and Scott. Experience sure does pay off.
After waiting for hours, you might get a standby number — but you still aren't guaranteed a ticket
Around 7 a.m., NBC Pages started down the line, giving each person a choice between a dress rehearsal with a 6:45 p.m. arrival time or a live show with a 9:45 p.m. arrival.
For Mulaney's show, I chose the rehearsal and got card no. 23. I figured I'd see the live version on TV.
I also learned there's a tradition many partake in once they get their standby cards.
"Take a picture of your ticket before the show," Ellis Mitchell, a Staten Islander who's been in the "SNL" audience six times, told Insider. "If you are fortunate enough to get in, you won't be able to keep it."
After a few hours of recovering, those with cards head back to 30 Rock — this time to The Shop at NBC Studios, where everyone is ordered based on their standby numbers.
This is when the adrenaline really starts pumping. Every step forward is a sigh of relief, yet any time you're not actually sitting in a studio seat means you could still be shown the exit.
At the Mulaney-hosted show, NBC Pages quickly let the first 60 people through security. Before I knew it, I had a wristband and was in a front-row seat in the studio. The dress rehearsal was extra cool because I saw several sketches that never even made it onto YouTube.
After having luck with my first show, I started to get a sense of the odds
In subsequent weeks, when I saw the "SNL Standby Line" account tweet that the line count was less than 70 or so people, I joined the back of the queue. I usually arrived at 6:40 a.m. right before it was closed off at 7.
I ended up being no. 35 for the Jerrod Carmichael-hosted dress rehearsal and then no. 58 for Isaac's live show.
Both times, it came down to the wire as the pages sent people up one by one to fill single seats. I could have just as easily been sent back home as so many behind me were.
Still, my 20-minute morning investment paid off in both cases. I was in the audience for both shows.
I learned helpful advice for getting tickets — and saw how the 'SNL' standby line truly is a community
Seeing the show in person was amazing, and I found a wonderful community on the standby line. I now have group chats with people I met there and we're making plans to try to see the next set of shows.
It was also nice to see people of all ages and backgrounds waiting for tickets — there's even a dog named DeVito who has attended the show about 50 times since 2017 with his owner, Nancy Cook.
"DeVito is like the rest of us when it comes to weathering the standby line," Cook told Insider. "He dresses appropriately and even has his own sleeping bag." She said he especially loves the carpet in Studio 8H — when he's on it, he "rolls around on his back, almost like he's dancing to the music."
As for standby-line regulars like Goucher and Scott, they said it's more than the thrill of securing tickets that keeps them coming back. It's the friendships they've made along the way, too.
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