Lorne Michaels Isn’t Ready to Leave ‘Saturday Night Live’ Quite Yet: ‘I Don’t Feel I’m Done’
As much as an institution as “Saturday Night Live” may be, perhaps even more totemic is its creator and longtime executive producer — Canada’s favorite son — Lorne Michaels. The show’s 50th Anniversary special airs on NBC and streams via Peacock this Sunday, February 16 and features talent such as Sabrina Carpenter, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Ayo Edebiri, Pedro Pascal, John Mulaney, and many many more. But in the build up, countless pieces have been written about Michaels’ impact on not only the series, but the entire comedy world over the last half century.
At the same time, much has also been discussed in regards to when Michaels (80) will step away, and who will take over as the head honcho of “SNL?” However, in a recent interview with The New York Times, Michaels made clear that no succession plan will be set in motion anytime soon.
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“I may be wrong,” he said. “But I don’t feel I’m done.”
Though “Saturday Night Live” continues to be ratings juggernaut at a moment when viewing habits have become so disparate, many believe the show has become bogged down in the last decade by Michaels’ poor handling of the political moment. “SNL” has always aimed to mock those in powers, but by platforming Donald Trump with a hosting gig in 2015 ahead of his first primary run, Michaels may have set off a chain reaction that’s led us to our current situation.
Speaking to the NY Times in 2016 ahead of the election, Michaels said of the controversial choice, “There’s a smugness to that attitude that causes the voting public to go, ‘We’re smarter than that.’ Donald’s giving voice to what polite society sort of sat on for a while, things that are felt but that no one is articulating. There is something happening there, or it wouldn’t be resonating.”
Today, after Trump’s attempted extortion of Ukraine, his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, the January 6 riot, and multiple felony charges handed down, Michaels was still hesitant to show his concern over Trump returning to the White House.
“We heard, over the last four years, a lot of ‘this is the most consequential election in American history,’” said Michaels. “I go, ‘Are we just jumping over Lincoln?’”
However, Michaels has tried to adjust how “SNL” presents Trump having had so much experience doing so over the last few years. While Alec Baldwin portrayed him in the lead-up to the 2016 election and during his first term in office, Trump’s current impersonator is cast member James Austin Johnson.
“I think Alec was the sort of Satanic Trump,” Michaels said in comparing the two portrayals. “I think James is somehow a more familiar Trump and maybe slightly diminished. He’s not world-ending every time.”
Whether this takes some of the power away from Trump or underplays the President’s fascist tendencies is best decided by those watching at home, according to Michaels. His job is just to keep things funny. How long he stays in that job remains to be seen, but when asked if he’ll take the show with him when he leaves, Michaels said, “I’m not that guy.”
“SNL50: The Anniversary Special” airs on NBC and streams on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT Sunday, February 16.
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