Lorne Michaels is opening up about the future of Saturday Night Live.
The 79-year-old executive producer and creator first premiered the NBC sketch comedy series in 1975 and over the past few years, fans have started to speculate who may take over the reigns when he inevitably retires.
In a new interview, Lorne revealed who he thinks could “easily” replace him.
Keep reading to find out more…
While on the red carpet at the 2023 Emmy Awards on Monday night (January 15), Lorne said that Tina Fey would be the perfect person to take over SNL when he retires, but noted that there are other people that could also be his successor.
“It could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know…” Lorne told Entertainment Weekly.
“Tina’s brilliant and great at everything,” Lorne added. “She’s a very important person in my life.”
Lorne also reasserted that he plans on sticking around as the boss of SNL for at least the next year.
“We’re doing the 50th anniversary show in February of ’25, so I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that,” Lorne confirmed. “And sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do.”
Tina, 53, first joined SNL in 1997 as a writer before getting promoted to head writer in 1999, becoming the first woman to hold the title. She then became an official cast member in fall of 2000. She remained on the show until 2006 when she left to write and star in 30 Rock, which Lorne executive produced.
Another SNL alum addressed speculation that they’re in the running to replace Lorne when he retired.