To replace Robin Duke, Jan Hooks and Kathy Najimy auditioned for a permanent spot on the show. Ultimately, they lost out to Pamela Stephenson. Jan Hooks also auditioned to join the cast for the 1985-1986 season, but ultimately lost out to Joan Cusack. Jan Hooks was eventually accepted as a permanent star on the show since the 1986-1987 season. Hooks would remain as a cast member until the 1990-1991 season.
According to Martin Short, who joined the cast as a regular starting with this show, the dress rehearsal did not go well, and several last-minute changes had to be made before the show went to air. The decision was made to include the pre-recorded sketch "Synchronized Swimming" in the line-up, which had originally been planned to be shown the following week.
In a return to earlier seasons, the camera scanned the audience before a commercial break. In this show's audience was 2-time SNL host Jamie Lee Curtis. Onscreen text read "Really thinks this is Donahue." Not long after, she married Christopher Guest, who debuted on the show that night.
Billy Crystal was the unofficial "host", performing the monologue and anchoring "Saturday Night News" as his alter ego Fernando Lamas. However, this is an "All-Star" episode. This is the fourth episode without a fixed host.
Dick Ebersol had already decided that this would be his last season as producer, and decided to go out with a bang. Instead of hiring virtual unknowns, he suggested bringing in some big names as new cast-members. Billy Crystal was paid 25,000 dollars per show and Martin Short got 5,000 less, but only because he waited until the last minute to say yes. According to Ebersol, he also wanted to cast Andrea Martin, but the other cast and crew members all fell in love with Pamela Stephenson, so they passed on Martin. All of the new cast members got one-year contracts.