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“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) has had a successful run for over 45 seasons. Critics say the show isn’t funny anymore because it’s become a mouthpiece for liberals in the Democrat Party.
“SNL” was created by and continues to be produced by Canadian-American actor, film, and television producer Lorne Michaels.
As the show is looking toward the 50th season and Micheals is 77 years old, questions are beginning to surface about the show continuing.
Another consideration is that seven of the eight main characters have left and have not been replaced.
One reason may be that “Their cast last year got to be pretty sizable, but my understanding from Lorne was, during Covid, everyone wanted to stay together. It’s unusual they had such a large cast,” said a TV source. “One thing I had heard is that there were so many people last season that they weren’t able to feature people in the way that they wanted to.”
A Michaels spokesperson said, “Because of the pandemic, no one left [for the past couple of years” — but that didn’t stop the show from adding newcomers. “The way the series has survived is by renewal. Because if the show doesn’t add people every year, the show isn’t the show.”
It is natural for actors to leave “SNL” and go on to other projects.
“SNL” has held its casting auditions for new talent, but on the other hand, “There is no more urgency [to add more cast members],” said improv club owner Norm Laviolette. “It gets tricky when all of a sudden, a big percentage of your ensemble moves on.”
Michael did tell reporters at the 2022 “Emmy Awards Show,” “This will be a transition year. Change years are always difficult but always exciting.”
A source told a reporter that he heard Michaels say, “‘I’m not retiring’ is his thing, but 50 is going to come, and he’s going to reconsider — unless he’s having too much fun.”
More on this story via New York Post:
Michaels has also remained a guiding hand in many players’ careers outside of “SNL” — helping produce everything from Mike Myers’ “Wayne’s World” movies to Tina Fey’s “30 Rock,” Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers’ late-night NBC talk shows, Fred Armisen’s “Portlandia,” “That Damn Michael Che” on HBO and Thompson’s recent failed “Kenan” sitcom.
Italia pointed out that Michaels has evolved over time, becoming more willing to let performers take weeks off from “SNL” to work on other projects.
“Pete was working on a film for most of last season,” said Italia of Davidson. Later, “Lorne asked Pete what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to do a series loosely based on his life and now it’s filming.” The sitcom, “Bupkis,” is being produced by Michaels’ Broadway Video production company and will air on Peacock.
Sources agree that a post-Michaels “SNL” is difficult to picture.
— Advertisement — “It’s hard to imagine both the show without Lorne and Lorne without the show,” Shales said, speculating on the notion of a new leader. “It’s not like we’ll be getting a new pope — though, maybe in television terms, it is that.”
