The 50th anniversary celebration of “Saturday Night Live” is so big, it’s not even on Saturday. Airing Sunday and spanning three hours, the live “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” will assemble a dream team of stars who have helped the show become an enduring pop culture force.

“Saturday Night Live” will celebrate 50 years of live comedy with the three-hour “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” on Sunday, Feb. 16, but there won’t be a new episode of “SNL” on Saturday, Feb. 8, or Saturday, Feb. 15.

If it felt like “Saturday Night Live” took to the airwaves in 1975 with a renegade spirit, 50 years later it’s become not only a late-night tradition, but traditional. Hitting the half-century mark is a milestone.