Ahmir Thompson, better known as Questlove, spent the better part of two years watching "Saturday Night Live."

Literally.

"I would do, on an average, maybe three episodes a day," the musician and filmmaker tells TODAY.com in a sit-down interview.

"I started in 2021 (and) around late 2023 is when I finally reached the 900th episode," he says of his research on the famed sketch-comedy show ahead of its 50th anniversary earlier this year.

But what initially was intended as a compilation of clips for a retrospective of "SNL's" greatest music moments turned into a full-fledged labor of love once the Roots drummer and "Tonight Show" bandleader began rewatching the show.

"Basically, in the beginning, I just thought, 'OK, 50 years of "SNL" means I'll find the 50 best music performances. Easy-peasy,'" Questlove recalls.

"Then, by the time I got to 1988, I already had 39 slots filled and thought there was no way I was going to get to 2025 without breaking someone's heart or ruining my reputation," he says.

So, the musician and producer shifted gears and started over.

"I just started from the beginning and decided that maybe I should watch all the episodes," he says. Once he did, everything changed.

"I decided that this is not going to be a clip show. This is going to be a real narrative documentary," says Questlove, who notably picked up an Oscar in 2022 for "Summer of Soul ( ... Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)," a documentary on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

The result of his two-year odyssey is "Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of 'SNL' Music," a two-hour feature now streaming on Peacock chronicling the hundreds of acts that have performed on "SNL's" legendary stage and the indelible mark they've left on TV history. (Peacock is owned by TODAY.com's parent company, NBCUniversal.)

"I love 'SNL' more than the air I breathe. So never once did it feel like work," says Questlove. "Even now, I'm still at tapings as if I'm still doing research, knowing good and well, like, it's over."

Along with chronicling memorable musical guests and moments, Questlove also included a variety of cameos and sketches in the documentary, citing their importance in the show's overall cultural impact.

"It'd be Billy Murray singing 'Star Wars' or Eddie Murphy doing 'Hot Tub,' even the Debbie Downer, womp, womp, womp, womp," he says, adding Debbie Downer sound effects for good measure.

"Most of the memorable things that we love 'SNL' for usually has a musical component that we attach it to."

According to Questlove, he’d watch episodes, then take notes on anything music-related that occurred during the 90-minute show, starting with "SNL's" debut on Oct. 11, 1975. That fateful first episode featured performances by not one, but two guests: Billy Preston and Janis Ian.

Among the viewers watching that night was Questlove.

"I was 5 years old," he says. It was a seminal moment that would launch a lifelong passion for the show he'd one day go on to document for the history books.

"I’m just really glad that I got chosen to be able to capture lightning in a bottle or just be in the zeitgeist of learning and teaching at the same time. That’s the important thing for me."

Even though it's been on the air for five decades, Questlove says "SNL" is as relevant and "strong" as it was 50 years ago.

"There was a period where it was almost, like, customary, almost obligatory, to trash 'SNL.' Like, the whole 'Saturday Night Dead' or, 'It's not funny like it used to be,'" he explains, saying it took him a while to realize it's not an "SNL" thing as much as it is a generational thing.

"You grasp on it, like, either in late middle school or the beginning of high school, and then it becomes your thing in college. Then you sort of step off the train once you go to adulthood. But another generation comes and embraces it," he says.

"Once I realized that it's just the passing down of the torch of a generation, then I realized that 'SNL' still has the power to speak to people."

Indeed, he says the show spoke to him as he sat in the audience and watched Elton John perform live this past season.

"That moment was so powerful — looking to my left, in full civilian mode, was Madonna, literally four seats over. And she was just as gobsmacked as I was. And I was like, 'Wait a minute, no bodyguards, no fans. You're just sitting here like a regular person who wants this,'" he says of John's April 5 performance.

"That's how powerful it was. We sat (and) it almost drove us to tears. That's how I realize there's still magic there."

John was far from the only highlight this past season. Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Benson Boone, Stevie Nicks, Coldplay and Billie Eilish, among others, also took the stage during "SNL's" 50th season.

But according to Questlove, one musician took their performance to the next level: Lady Gaga.

Though the legendary singer has performed on the "SNL" stage a total of five times since 2009, it's her most recent turn as host and musical guest that the drummer says was a true game changer.

"She kind of wanted to redo, like, make a memorable moment happen that she didn't get to make happen the last time she hosted the show. And she did it," he says of Lady Gaga's March 8 appearance on "SNL."

"That's the first time where I saw someone in every sketch and doing these intricate performances," Questlove continues.

"That's the magic of 'SNL,'" he concludes. "I'm glad I was there. It was a historical moment that we'll talk about decades from now."

Sarah Lemire

Sarah Lemire is a lifestyle and entertainment reporter for TODAY based in New York City. She covers holidays, celebrities and everything in between.