“The story of a 36-time Emmy-winning variety show, its mass of comedians, unforgettable sketches and provocative political satire.”

“The editors of this volume have produced a book that is not just important but vital. 'Saturday Night Live' and American TV offers a diversity of perspectives, and the essays are strong from start to finish. It stands out as distinctive.”
 — Christine Becker, author of It's the Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television

“Saturday Night Live is an important piece of US television's history and present, and Marx, Sienkiewicz, and Becker have collected a comparably substantive roster of authors to deftly examine the show from an expansive range of perspectives. An excellent contribution to television studies, the collection definitively covers the show's evolving form, approach, engagement with post-network technologies, and incorporation of social politics over its profound thirty-five year history.”
 — Amanda D. Lotz, author of The Television Will Be Revolutionized

“For SNL fans, 'Saturday Night Live' and American TV is an engaging analysis that places the show in a larger context of modern media studies, exploring SNL's impact on the cultural landscape both as a satiric reflection and surreptitious political peacemaker. The editors have compiled a thorough and often surprising volume that explores every part of the SNL machine as well as the many advances it's made in the last ten years. A must-have on the SNL lover's bookshelf.”
 — Megh Wright, Splitsider.com

“'Saturday Night Live' and American TV offers an unprecedented, comprehensive, and lively examination of critical transformations and creative strategies that historically have allowed SNL to demonstrate 'continuity and innovation,' relevance and convention, 'Live, from New York!' since 1975. Chapters re-examine common narratives about SNL and bring new attention to the series’ post-millennial transformations and extensions. 'Saturday Night Live' and American TV represents a critical model for understanding and assessing the characteristics of those rare 'old' and 'new' media entities that exhibit long-term success and ongoing, cross-generational, national, cultural relevance in an era of presumed ephemerality.”
 — Victoria E. Johnson, Author of Heartland TV: Primetime Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity

“All the essays are scholarly and clear, and all end with a substantive bibliography. . . . The book is equally useful as a cohesive book or as a series of self-contained essays for a variety of disciplines. . . . Highly recommended. ”
 — Choice

“Readers looking for an informative collection of essays from challenging vantage points will find a lot to love here.”
 — PopMatters

“If you like the variety show that weekly brings us outstanding sketch comedy and popular music, you'll find this book worthy. ”
 — NUVO

“Readers looking for a more analytical approach to SNL will want to check out this interesting collection of essays. . . . The book is undeniably interesting as it explores the show from angles that many readers probably haven’t encountered previously.”
 — Booklist