Saturday Night Live: Season 11
Saturday Night Live aired its 11th season during the 1985-1986 television season on NBC. The season started on November 9, 1985 and ended on May 24, 1986, 18 episodes were produced. Dick Ebersol left the show after the 1984-85 season, when the network refused his request to shut the program down entirely for six months and shift much of the material onto tape, not live broadcast. Once again, NBC briefly considered c
Season 11 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Saturday Night Live Season 10.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
Saturday Night Live aired its 11th season during the 1985-1986 television season on NBC. The season started on November 9, 1985 and ended on May 24, 1986, 18 episodes were produced.
Dick Ebersol left the show after the 1984-85 season, when the network refused his request to shut the program down entirely for six months and shift much of the material onto tape, not live broadcast. Once again, NBC briefly considered cancelling the show, but programming head Brandon Tartikoff decided to continue the show and re-hire erstwhile producer Lorne Michaels.
In some ways the job Michaels returned to was more challenging than the one he took on in 1975. For starters, Michaels' "golden boy" reputation was somewhat tarnished. His most recent effort, the previous season's The New Show confused critics and was ignored by audiences. Also, the 1984-1985 season had been a critical and ratings hit, generating memorable characters and stand-out performers. However, Michaels would not be the only member of the old guard to return: original writers Al Franken and Tom Davis would return as producers, and Jim Downey would be head writer. Fans and critics welcomed Michaels and many of the original producers and writers back, calling it a return to the show's roots.
Episode Guide
Season 11 Progress Shield
Madonna/Simple Minds
Nov 9, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include: ""SNL Drug Tests,"" ""A Message From The Almighty,"" ""National Inquirer Theatre,"" ""Pinklisting,"" ""Cabrini Green,"" and ""Nancy Reagan Meets Charles and Di.""
Chevy Chase/Sheila E.
Nov 16, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Smoky Hallway,"" ""Wacky Glue,"" ""Those Unlucky Andersons"", ""Ford and Reagan,"" ""The Pat Stevens Show,"" ""Pathological Liars Anonymous,"" ""Craig Sundburg-I
Pee Wee Herman/Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band
Nov 23, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Twin Towers Tightrope,"" ""Pee Wee Herman's Thanksgiving Special"", ""Marital Problems,"" ""Pee Wee's School Romance,"" ""Find the Mouse in the Coke,"" and ""Hal
John Lithgow/Mr. Mister
Dec 7, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include--- Halley's Comet, Cliche Father, Master Thespian, Nancy Reagan sings ""That Old Black Magic"", The Ad Council, Rajneesh's Rolls-Royces, The Limits Of The Imaginat
Tom Hanks/Sade
Dec 14, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include "Entertainment Tonight", "Trojans", "Tommy and His Mother", "Comedians" and "Steve's Fantasy".
Teri Garr/Dream Academy, The Cult
Dec 21, 1985 · 67 min
Sketches include ""The Wrapper Rapper,"" ""Critic,"" ""The Price of Eggs,"" ""Hildy,"" ""A Roy Orbison Christmas,"" ""The Big Tree,"" and ""Time Traveling Trivial Pursuit."" The D
Harry Dean Stanton/The Replacements
Jan 18, 1986 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's... Dennis Miller! Sketches include "Herb's Press Conference," "Gulf Coast Furniture Warehouse," "Cleveland Vice," "Death Of A Gunfighter," "What You Said
Dudley Moore/Al Green
Jan 25, 1986 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Monks and Football,"" ""The Pat Stevens Show,"" ""Master Thespian"", ""The Limits of the Imagination"", ""Name That Tune,"" and ""Die Foriegner Die!"" Al Green
Ron Reagan/The Nelsons
Feb 8, 1986 · 67 min
Live From New York, it's...Ronald Reagon, Jr. Sketches include: White House Risky Business, You're Going To Hell: A Message From The Almighty (repeat from the Madonna/Simple Minds
Jerry Hall/Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Feb 15, 1986 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's... Mick Jagger! Sketches include "Tommy Flanagan," "The Limits Of The Imagination," and "Models Against The Wilderness," "Master Thespian," "The Line of D
Jay Leno/The Neville Brothers
Feb 22, 1986 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Backstage,"" ""Star Search,"" ""Dinner with Mike,"" ""Biff & Selena,"" and ""Jay's Evil Twin.""
Griffin Dunne/Rosanne Cash
Mar 15, 1986 · 67 min
""Tommy Flanagan's Pathological Liars Anonymous"", ""Griffin Dunne's One-Handed Drum Solo from Wipeout"", ""Ferdinand Marcos Malacanang Palace Liquidation Sale"", ""You bet your fi
George Wendt/Philip Glass
Mar 22, 1986 · 67 min
Sketches include ""The Honeymooners: Lost Episodes,"" ""Camera Control,"" ""Two Directors,"" ""That Black Girl,"" and ""Vietnam Sketch."" Philip Glass performs ""Rubric.""
Oprah Winfrey/Joe Jackson
Apr 12, 1986 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Beat Her!,"" ""John Mellencamp,"" ""The Pat Stevens Show,"" ""Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant,"" and ""One-Shoe Emma."" Joe Jackson performed ""Right or Wrong.""
Tony Danza/Laurie Anderson
Apr 19, 1986 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's... Randy Quaid, Robert Downey Jr., and Anthony Michael Hall! Sketches include "Vietnam Horror Story," "Nancy Reagan's Workout," "Lyndon LaRouche Theatre,
Catherine Oxenberg & Paul Simon/Ladysmith Black Mambazo
May 10, 1986 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's... Paul Simon! Sketches include "Geraldo Rivera Opens The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier," "Wall Shackles Prison," "The Late Show with Joan Rivers," "The Limi
Jimmy Breslin & Marvin Hagler/Level 42, E.G. Daily
May 17, 1986 · 67 min
Sketches are ""Mike 'The Menace' Hall,"" ""Kill Kaddafi?"" ""Tornadoville,"" ""Marvin's Knockout Tips,"" ""Lone Wolf McCord,"" ""The Pat Stevens,"" ""Cabrini Green's Assembly,"" ""
Anjelica Huston & Billy Martin/George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
May 24, 1986 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's...Randy Quaid Sketches include: Hands Across America, Moments of Doubt, Glamorous Drinking, National Council of Liquor and Spirits, Actors on Film, Hallma