The Full Roster
Everyone who earned a robe. Some more than once. Some so many times the robe closet is basically theirs now. Host counts are approximate — listed with all the precision our obsessive research allows.
Pioneer Era · 1975–1989
The people who figured out what the Five-Timers Club was before it had a name — or, you know, robes.
"He is the founding spirit of the club. The man who made five-timing look so natural that others aspired to it. Without Steve Martin, the Five-Timers Club is just some people who showed up a lot."
Required Viewing: His 1976 debut, King Tut (1978), and basically his entire run through the late '70s/early '80s when he and the show were both in their prime simultaneously.
"Co-hosted with Jane Curtin multiple times in a move that either (a) counts as five each, (b) counts as 2.5 each, or (c) is complicated enough that we just call him a titan and move on. He was a titan."
Required Viewing: Any of his early appearances — he was the show's most frequent host in the first few seasons and is criminally underappreciated by modern audiences.
"Original cast member turned returning host, which creates an argument about whether the club even applies to him — a debate we have devoted an entire page to. Spoiler: it's complicated."
Required Viewing: His first return as host in 1978, where he and Bill Murray famously had a backstage altercation. Television history is messy.
"One of the show's very first great hosts, back when nobody knew what kind of show it was going to be. Elliott Gould was there before the myths, before the legends. Just a man and a very new studio."
Required Viewing: His 1975 appearance in Season 1 — the first season of Saturday Night Live, when the whole thing was still an experiment.
"The first woman to achieve Five-Timers Club status. She hosted the fifth episode of Season 1 in 1975 and never stopped. History has a habit of not emphasizing this enough. We are emphasizing it."
Required Viewing: Her 1975 Season 1 appearance — she is one of the original founding hosts of Saturday Night Live. Full stop.
"A genuine musical legend who treated hosting SNL like it was a natural extension of being one of the most talented songwriters alive. (It was.) His appearances always felt like events."
Required Viewing: His Season 1 appearances — he was central to the show's early identity and hosted multiple times in its formative years.
Golden Era · 1990–2009
The era when hosting multiple times became aspirational, the sketches became iconic, and the club started to feel like a real thing.
"The undisputed hosting champion of Saturday Night Live by a comfortable margin. His record is extraordinary. His legacy is... let's say layered. The robe fits, the count is real, and we leave further editorializing to the reader."
Required Viewing: Schweddy Balls (1998) — a masterclass in straight-face comedy. Also his entire Trump run 2016–2020, however you feel about it.
"There is a version of a world where John Goodman holds the hosting record. He has been quietly, reliably, brilliantly funny at SNL for decades. He deserves more credit and he would probably say that's fine."
Required Viewing: His first hosting stint (1989) kicked off one of the great recurring relationships between a host and the show.
"The only celebrity in America who could announce he was hosting SNL and generate zero controversy. He just shows up and is wonderful and everyone agrees. It's almost suspicious."
Required Viewing: Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood cold open (2019). Also his David S. Pumpkins creation (2016) — a character that now appears every Halloween whether we voted for it or not.
"A man who sounds like a William Shatner impression doing a Christopher Walken impression. Every sentence he delivers lands like a riddle. The cowbell sketch made him immortal, which means he'll outlive all of us."
Required Viewing: "More Cowbell" (2000) with Will Ferrell. "I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell." Required by law, not just preference.
Modern Era · 2010–Present
The club keeps growing. The robes keep getting handed out. The social media discourse about whether someone "deserved" it has multiplied exponentially.
"The moment JT hosted, it became clear that pop stars could do comedy at the highest level. His partnership with Andy Samberg is one of the great host-cast collaborations in the show's history. The bar was set. Most others didn't clear it."
Required Viewing: "Dick in a Box" (2006), "Motherlover" (2009). Both. You have to watch both. It's not optional.
"Former head writer and Weekend Update anchor who returned to host and reminded everyone why she ran the place for a decade. She could walk in tomorrow and they'd hand her the writer's room. Nobody would question it."
Required Viewing: Her Sarah Palin impression alongside Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton (2008). Two people at the absolute top of their game, in real time, during a real election.
"She hosted her first episode the same season Bridesmaids came out and has never stopped being one of the most physically committed performers the show has ever had. Sean Spicer didn't stand a chance."
Required Viewing: Her Sean Spicer impression (2017) — she showed up unannounced and broke the internet. Arrived on a motorized podium. The bar wasn't just raised, it was driven into the building.
"Has proven repeatedly that being one of the biggest action stars on earth doesn't preclude you from being genuinely funny in a sketch. She's one of the more underrated members of the club, and we're correcting that now."
Required Viewing: Black Widow dating profile sketch (2016). Also her recurring appearances with various cast members who clearly enjoy working with her.
"She first hosted at age 7 in 1982, making her span as an SNL host possibly the longest in the show's history. Child actor to adult host to Five-Timers Club member. That's a complete arc."
Required Viewing: Her 1982 hosting stint — she was seven years old. The tape exists. It's extraordinary in retrospect.
"The Rock hosting SNL is a case study in self-awareness done right. He knows exactly what the joke is, leans into it completely, and then somehow also turns out to be a good actor doing it. He's annoying about it in the best way."
Required Viewing: Any appearance where he's in an absurd costume. He commits to them with the same intensity as a Marvel fight scene. It's a gift.
"Ben Affleck has hosted SNL during multiple distinct phases of his career — as a star, as someone the internet had opinions about, and as a comeback story. The man has range. The Five-Timers Club is the one room where that all gets set aside."
Required Viewing: His appearances during the Dunkin'/Boston persona era, when the internet had collectively decided on his entire personality and he played it perfectly.
"Don Draper can sell anything, and apparently Jon Hamm can do comedy too. He arrived as a serious dramatic actor and discovered he was funny. The audience was delighted. He was probably relieved."
Required Viewing: His numerous appearances playing an exaggerated version of 'Very Handsome Serious Man' — the contrast is the comedy, and he's very good at it.
"His post-election 2016 monologue is one of the most discussed hosting appearances in the show's recent history. Whatever you think of his subsequent work, that night was something. The room knew it."
Required Viewing: His November 2016 monologue, the week after the presidential election. A comedian processing national shock in real time. Uncomfortable. Necessary.
"The man contains more BTUs than a commercial furnace. He has hosted SNL five times and each time the production staff reportedly needed a week to recover. The fifth was no exception. The robe has been earned. It fits. We are not surprised."
Required Viewing: Any of his five hosting appearances. Pick one. They are all functionally identical in their commitment to maximum chaos, and that is a compliment of the highest order.
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