Even at 78 years old, Lorne Michaels has no plans to retire from his head-honcho duties at Saturday Night Live! He even said so, verbatim, just a year ago in an interview with The New York Times. The longtime showrunner even called the 47th season a “rebirth” and a “year of reinvention.” But without an election cycle to spoof, ratings remained low. Still, even though the king of sketch comedy is showing no signs of giving up the gig, succession plans must be in motion, right? I’m sure SNL doesn’t want a Jeopardy! situation.
Well, a recent report suggests that NBC might already have a preferred option for SNL‘s future leader. Last week, an unnamed source told the New York Post that former SNL writer and “Weekend Update” host Tina Fey is “being courted” to take over the role. After SNL, Tina Fey starred on the popular NBC sitcom 30 Rock with Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and Jane Krakowski. Most recently, she turned her Mean Girls script into a Broadway musical. Fey has yet to comment on the report. In fact, a spokesperson from NBC responded to an ET Canada piece on the subject, stating that “there is no truth” to the rumors.
Even so, you have to ask: What would a total overhaul for SNL look like? What would Fey change about the nearly 50-year-old show? As recent sketch series such as I Think You Should Leave and The Eric Andre Show have proved, the format and tone of SNL could use a proper update.
Josh Rosenberg
Assistant Editor
Josh Rosenberg is an Assistant Editor at Esquire, keeping a steady diet of one movie a day. His past work can be found at Spin, CBR, and on his personal blog at Roseandblog.com.
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