Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels responds to the requests for a certain fan-favorite successor. Michaels is the creator of Saturday Night Live and has been producing the show since 1975. Now 79 years old, Michaels’ retirement has been frequently discussed, though the producer has not announced any concrete plans to retire.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Michaels addresses whether his job could eventually be taken over by a fan cast successor: Tina Fey. Michaels claimed that his successor “could easily be Tina Fey,” but did not confirm that it would necessarily be the actress. Check out the full quote from Michaels below:
“It could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know [could be good]. Tina’s brilliant and great at everything. She’s a very important person in my life.”
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Fey first became involved in Saturday Night Live in 1997, when she joined the team as a writer. Two years later, she became the first female head writer for SNL, and in 2000, she began performing. She continued on as a writer and cast member up until 2006.
Widely considered one of the greatest cast members the show has ever had, fans had previously pushed for Fey to be Michaels’ successor as executive producer. When rumors circulated about this Fey takeover, NBC firmly debunked the whisperings at the time. An NBC representative said concretely that “there is no truth to this report,” and reminded people that Michaels had expressed no plans to retire.
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Michaels’ ear for effective comedy is perhaps the most prominent contributor to SNL’s continued success.
The most recent report from Michaels seems much more hopeful, however, for those wanting Fey to eventually lead Saturday Night Live. Being one of the SNL greats, a Fey takeover would likely lead the sketch comedy series in a positive direction. Furthermore, Saturday Night Live has bred some particularly hilarious female comedians, including Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Aidy Bryant, and Kristen Wiig, so having the show produced by one of SNL’s great female comedians would also be a fantastic step for the show. Hopefully, fans will indeed get Fey as executive producer when Michaels eventually retires from SNL.
