Netflix Just Secretly Added One of the Best Movies of the Year

The last month or so has been big for surprise additions to Netflix’s streaming roster. A few weeks ago, the streaming service added a bunch of big Warner Bros. releases to the lineup without announcing them in the monthly newsletters. Over the weekend, another surprise hit Netflix, this time in the form of one of the best comedies (and maybe best films) of 2024.

The movie in question is Saturday Night, Jason Reitman’s fast-paced comedy about the chaotic lead-up to the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. After hitting theaters back in October, and getting a Blu-ray release from Sony at the start of January, Saturday Night has now hit the world of streaming, thanks to Netflix.

The addition of Saturday Night wasn’t announced by Netflix ahead of time, but movie fans knew that it was going to arrive on the service at some point. Netflix has a deal in place to be the first exclusive streaming home for all of Sony’s theatrically released films. Every Sony movie that hits the big screen will eventually hit Netflix, there just aren’t specific release dates ahead of time. That trend will continue for other Sony releases like Venom: The Last Dance, Kraven the Hunter, and the new hit comedy One of Them Days.

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Saturday Night was released in October to largely rave reviews from critics and a positive response from moviegoers. The biggest draw for the film, arriving as Saturday Night Live is in the midst of its landmark 50th season, is its cast. Reitman and the team behind the film had the immense challenge of casting young actors to play comedy icons like Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Andy Kaufman, Billy Crystal, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, and George Carlin.

The film stars The Fabelmans‘ Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live and the man still running the show today. The cast also includes Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster; Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase; Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner; Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd; Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman; Matt Wood as John Belushi; Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris (no relation); Kim Matula as Jane Curtin; Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson; Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol; Andrew Barth Feldman as Neil Levy; Tommy Dewey as Michael O’Donoghue; Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal; Jon Batiste as Billy Preston; Willem Dafoe as Dave Tebet; Matthew Rhys as George Carlin; and J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle.