NBC pays 'SNL' audience to comply with COVID-19 restrictions

Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Each audience member for Saturday Night Live's season premiere walked out with a surprise $150 check.

A live audience of about 100 people attended the NBC sketch comedy show's debut of its 46th season on Saturday live from Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center.

New York's COVID-19 guidelines prohibit live audiences at "media production activities," including shows like SNL unless the audience is made up of paid cast, crew or employees.

Audience members requested free tickets through a third-party website earlier in the week.

Sean Ludwig, a freelance writer from Brooklyn, who attended Saturday's live show said he and his fellow audience members were surprised by the $150 checks being handed out as they walked out the door.

SNL distributed the free tickets through the casting agency 1iota, but 1iota's website did not mention compensation for audience members, prompting the state to issue a public warning Thursday, but NBC maintained that it had followed all the state guidelines and protocols.

Some of the free tickets were reserved for healthcare workers, who received a shout-out at the start of the show.

NBC was able to count the audience members as employees by paying them, which put the show in compliance with the state's COVID-19 restrictions, according to the state Department of Health.

"SNL has confirmed that they followed the reopening guidance, including selecting audience members through a third-party screening and casting process and compensating them for their time as paid audience members," Health Department spokesman Jonah Bruno said in a statement.

Among the strict protocols, they each received a rapid COVID-19 test as they entered Rockefeller Center and had to test negative before they could enter the studio. Audience members were also required to wear masks for the entire show and were seated in "pods" of seven, eight or nine people who requested tickets together.

The New York guidelines allow a paid live audience of up to 100 people or 25% of the audience capacity, whichever is lower.