"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" GOES LIVE-LIVE IN ALL TIME ZONES FOR FINAL FOUR TELECASTS OF THE SEASON

"Tonight Show" Host Jimmy Fallon to Headline April 15 Telecast Followed by Chris Pine (May 6), Melissa McCarthy (May 13) and Dwayne Johnson (May 20) as Entire Country Will Watch Together for First Time in "SNL" History as Acclaimed Season 42 Winds Down

NEW YORK - March 16, 2017 - For the first time in its storied history, NBC's iconic late-night franchise "Saturday Night Live," which is delivering its most-watched season in 24 years, will be broadcast live simultaneously across the country for its final four shows of the season - April 15, May 6, 13 and 20.

"'SNL' - enjoying its most popular season in two decades - is part of the national conversation, and we thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the west and mountain time zones live at the same time it's being seen in the east and central time zones," said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. "That way, everyone is in on the joke at the same time. Kudos to Lorne Michaels, the producers and cast for making 'SNL' one of the most relevant and anticipated shows in the zeitgeist."

Each episode will air live at:

11:30 p.m. Eastern

10:30 p.m. Central

9:30 p.m. Mountain

8:30 p.m. Pacific

For the Mountain and Pacific time zones, "SNL" will be repeated at 11:30 p.m.

The hosts for these shows are as follows:

April 15 - Jimmy Fallon

May 6 - Chris Pine

May 13 - Melissa McCarthy

May 20 - Dwayne Johnson

The musical guests for these shows will be announced at a later date.

So far this season, "Saturday Night Live" originals are averaging a 3.57 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.022 million viewers overall in "live plus seven day" averages from Nielsen Media Research. This makes it the show's top-rated season at this point in eight years in 18-49 (since 2008-09) and most-watched season in 24 years (since 1992-93).

Versus year-ago averages, "SNL" is up +21% in adult 18-49 rating (3.57 vs. 2.94) and up 2.2 million persons or +26% in total viewers with 11.022 million.

The show has garnered high praise from critics this season, including acclaim for the work of Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway, Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer.

Said Variety: "Political turmoil has been very, very good to 'Saturday Night Live,'" while New York Magazine added, "Every single sketch 'SNL' wrote for Alec Baldwin as Trump was comedically masterful."

"SNL" has won 53 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. "SNL" also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 219 nominations. "SNL" has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as "truly a national institution." "Saturday Night Live" was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters.