Saturday Night Live aired its twelfth season during the 1986-1987 television season on NBC. The 12th season started on October 11, 1986, the 11th anniversary of the show's first episode, and ended on May 23, 1987.

Despite plans to have Saturday Night Live canceled due to the ratings of its previous season, producer Lorne Michaels convinced Brandon Tartikoff to give the show another chance, provided that a better cast be found for the next season. As a result, many of season 11's cast members were fired, except for Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, featured player A. Whitney Brown, and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller. Al Franken was rehired as a writer. The rest were relative unknowns, led by Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon. Hooks had auditioned to be in the season 10 and 11 casts, but had been turned down. Hartman helped write sketches in season 11's Thanksgiving episode hosted by Pee-wee Herman, and appeared in a sketch as a Pilgrim.

The first show of the 1986-1987 season opened with Madonna, host of the previous season opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices. According to the "statement", the entire 1985-1986 season was "...all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."
20 Episodes
  • Sigourney Weaver/Buster Poindexter
    Sigourney Weaver/Buster PoindexterEpisode 1
  • Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Run DMC
    Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Run DMCEpisode 2
  • Rosanna Arquette/Ric Ocasek
    Rosanna Arquette/Ric OcasekEpisode 3
  • Sam Kinison/Lou Reed
    Sam Kinison/Lou ReedEpisode 4
  • Robin Williams/Paul Simon
    Robin Williams/Paul SimonEpisode 5
  • Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, & Martin Short/Randy Newman
    Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, & Martin Short/Randy NewmanEpisode 6
  • Steve Guttenberg/The Pretenders
    Steve Guttenberg/The PretendersEpisode 7
  • William Shatner/Lone Justice
    William Shatner/Lone JusticeEpisode 8
  • Walter Payton, Joe Montana/Debbie Harry
    Walter Payton, Joe Montana/Debbie HarryEpisode 9
  • Paul Shaffer/Bruce Hornsby & the Range
    Paul Shaffer/Bruce Hornsby & the RangeEpisode 10
  • Bronson Pinchot/Paul Young
    Bronson Pinchot/Paul YoungEpisode 11
  • Willie Nelson
    Willie NelsonEpisode 12
  • Valerie Bertinelli/The Robert Cray Band
    Valerie Bertinelli/The Robert Cray BandEpisode 13
  • Bill Murray/Percy Sledge
    Bill Murray/Percy SledgeEpisode 14
  • Charlton Heston/Wynton Marsalis
    Charlton Heston/Wynton MarsalisEpisode 15
  • John Lithgow/Anita Baker
    John Lithgow/Anita BakerEpisode 16
  • John Larroquette/Timbuk 3
    John Larroquette/Timbuk 3Episode 17
  • Mark Harmon/Suzanne Vega
    Mark Harmon/Suzanne VegaEpisode 18
  • Garry Shandling/Los Lobos
    Garry Shandling/Los LobosEpisode 19
  • Dennis Hopper/Roy Orbison
    Dennis Hopper/Roy OrbisonEpisode 20
Cast of Season 12
  • Dana CarveySelf - Various Characters
  • Nora DunnSelf - Various Characters
  • Dennis MillerSelf - Various Characters
  • Jon LovitzSelf - Various Characters
  • Jan HooksSelf - Various Characters
  • Victoria JacksonSelf - Various Characters
  • Phil HartmanSelf - Various Characters
  • Kevin NealonSelf - Various Characters

Take Plex everywhere

Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices