Tina Fey could be returning to Saturday Night Live in an executive producer capacity whenever its 78-year-old creator Lorne Michaels decides to step down.
According to a report from the New York Post, the former writer and Weekend Update anchor is “being courted” to take over the position. However, it’s currently unknown whether Michaels even has any immediate plans to step down.
In a statement issued to ET Canada, an NBC spokesperson said “there is no truth” to the New York Post report and pointed to Michaels’ interview with The New York Times last year in which he said he had “no plans to retire.”
That being said, the longtime showrunner left the door open for a possible departure after its landmark 50th season in 2024-2025 during a 2021 interview with CBS News. “I think I’m committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” he said. “I’d like to see that through, and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave. But here’s the point: I won’t want the show ever to be bad. I care too deeply about it. It’s been my life’s work. So, I’m gonna do everything I can to see it carry on and carry on well.”
Fey would certainly be an excellent candidate to take over the mantle. After her SNL tenure from 1997 to 2006, she created and executive produced the highly successful sitcoms 30 Rock and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (in addition to writing and acting in both shows). Next up, Fey is set to write, produce, and star in a movie adaptation of the Mean Girls Broadway musical, itself based on the original film she wrote and starred in.
This fall, Fey and her frequent collaborator Amy Poehler are headed back out on their “Restless Leg Tour.” Tickets are available here.