The Saturday Night Live season just ended; so, as per usual, we’re all having a conversation about Lorne Michaels’ future. The creator and longtime showrunner has repeatedly said he has no plans on leaving the show, but given he’s over eighty and SNL remains a major pop culture force, it’s still a hot topic of conversation every summer. As arguably the fan favorite to replace Michaels, former head writer Tina Fey was recently asked for her take, and her answer has me thinking a lot about how she would change the show.
Before we get to that though, let’s talk about Fey’s answer, or more specifically, her non-answer. She sat down for an interview with Watch Mojo about the second season of The Four Seasons, the Netflix show she co-created and serves as the showrunner for. During the chat, all that showrunning experience was referenced, and she was asked if she’s the likely successor for Michaels. Here’s the diplomatic take she gave…
First of all, Lorne’s gonna live forever. And this is what we all want, and this is what’s best.
There’s obviously almost nothing to that answer. Whether she wants to take over SNL or not, she’s far too thoughtful and experienced to say that in an interview. Plus, I genuinely think she really likes Lorne, feels like it’s his show and wants him to run it as long as he can. In fact, I think that’s how pretty much everyone who has worked on SNL feels. It’s his baby. He’s still doing a good job, and he should decide what his exit plan looks like.
That being said, there was more to Fey’s answer. She also talked about her experience as a showrunner…
I do feel like what I’ve gotten good at is putting together a crew where everyone’s good, everyone’s nice, no one’s a jerk and everyone has a good time at work. So that is the number one thing.
Now, by all accounts, SNL has a fantastic crew and is staffed by really nice people. I certainly don’t think her comments were in anyway a reference to those working on the show she was a huge part of for so long. That being said, I do think the wanting everyone to have “a good time at work” part is really interesting and a possible clue as to what Fey might change if she ever were to take over for Michaels.
SNL is a live show that comments on popular culture and geopolitical events that take place the same week or even the same day as the episode. There is always going to be late nights and some stress involved, but Fey and many, many others who have worked on SNL have been open in the past about how chaotic and bizarre the schedule can be.
Most writers and cast members do very little prep work heading into the week, and there is an expectation that you work well into the night as pitches are being prepared. Fey has talked openly in the past about some of her frustrations with the set-up, and a lot of great cast members and writers have left over the years, specifically because of burnout or a frustration with the schedule, which is pretty much the same as it’s been since the 1970s.
I have to think, given these comments and plenty of other ones she’s made in the past, that if Fey ever took over SNL, she would take a hard look at how the week is structured. It’s never going to be the same as working on a more traditional show, but it seems like there could be ways to update how it’s put together that would help people find at least a slightly better work life balance.
Or maybe not? I’m not inside Fey’s head, and none of us, except maybe Lorne Michaels, know what the succession plan even looks like. His biographer has long speculated that he’ll never retire and instead just give up little bits of responsibility to make it more manageable. Maybe that’s what we’ll see. Or maybe he’ll just wake up one morning and decide he’s done. If that happens, maybe Fey would get the job or maybe it would go to someone like Colin Jost (or Seth Meyers or maybe Kenan Thompson), who also has head writer experience and is more directly connected to the current show. We’ll see.
Regardless, expect to hear plenty more about Michaels’ future this summer, as well as plenty of conversations about which cast members may or may not be returning. The season finale didn’t have any obvious goodbyes; so, everyone’s status is pretty much up in the air, except for Ashley Padilla, who is quickly turning into the show’s biggest star.
