Tag: Lorne Michaels

The Lorne Michaels Biography Is Really Good

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m maybe half-way into the book “Lorne” and it’s really good. The Not Ready For Primetime Players come across as very human. And the early years of SNL is up there with Rumor’s era Fleetwood Mac when it comes to kooky and wild love connections.

The best SNL sketch.

Anyway, I’m really enjoying the book. It’s not really telling me anything I didn’t already know through various other channels, but it’s focus on Michaels definitely is a hook to keep you engaged.

As an aside, my one encounter with a Michaels-like figure, one within the Virginia press industry, was a total catastrophe. But that says more about who I was at that moment in my life, than anything else.

Once a failed journalist, always a failed journalist.

I do have one question going forward — given how much detail the author has given the early years of SNL, she’s going to have to gloss over the next 45 years of the show. It’s enough to think that maybe there should be a three part book series on the show that would really get into the nitty gritty of the ups and downs of the show over the last 50 years.

Also, I have to note that I think modern SNL is probably the best it’s been outside of the first five years. The show is very modern and yet such a staple of Americana that it’s difficult to imagine life before or after its existence.

But, given how fucked up Trumplandia is, I’m sure Trump will figure out a way to pressure NBC to end the show whenever Michaels retires.

Is Tiny Fey Going To Take Over SNL After 2025?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Much to my chagrin, I realized I miscalculated when it came to when the 50th season of SNL is. It’s not THIS season, but NEXT season. Anyway, that’s not really the point of this post — the point is: who is going to replace Lorne Michaels at SNL?

Apparently, the rumor is that the job is Tina Fey’s if she wants it. She would do a great job. She is my favorite pick, at the moment. But she is a really busy person with a lot on her plate and the case could be made that her career is too well developed for her to want the job, no matter how prestigious it might be.

There are two other people I think might be dark horse candidates — Seth Meyers and John Mulaney. Both of them are a little younger than Fey and could potentially be in the job a lot longer.

I could totally see Fey being something of a transitional figure for the show, only being willing to serve a few years before handing the gig off to someone else. If Fey doesn’t get / want the job, my bet is on Mulaney because he’s 40 and could grow into the job.

There is the risk, of course, that whenever Michaels retires, that will be it for the show. I’ve heard chatter that NBC suits hate the show for being too complicated and expensive. Of course, it’s possible that if NBC pulls the plug on the show that a streamer like Netflix might pick it up without a hiccup.

Will There Even Be A 50th Season of SNL?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

First, I have no idea if there the strikes that currently are happening in Hollywood will still be going on this fall. But we have to begin to take the possibility that there won’t be a 50th season of Saturday Day Night Live seriously.

At the moment, there is a lot of chatter that the strikes will be wrapped up by around September when it really starts to hurt the industry in practical ways. And, yet, the case could also be made that lulz, because of AI, these strikes are going to linger for months and months AND MONTHS because suits are simply waiting for AI to catch up so the strikes are all moot.

I would estimate that we’re 18 months away from pretty good all-AI generated movies being practical. As such, that’s about how long I could see all these strikes taking before they’re wrapped up because there’s pretty much no human involvement in recorded entertainment at all.

But back to SNL.

I suppose SNL could get a specific exception? Maybe? Or maybe they might be able to get a specific carveout JUST for their 50th anniversary special? I suppose that’s possible. There is a darker possibility — the strikes, if they linger — might be used as an excuse to END SNL once and for all.

Lorne Michaels has suggested that he may retire after the 50th season and if there is obviously NOT GOING TO BE A 50TH SEASON then, lulz, he may just pack things in and the show goes out not with a bang, but with a whimper.

SNL Succession Drama: The Case For John Mulaney

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Saturday Night Live finds itself at something of a crossroads. The case could be made that the show should end with the final show of its 50th season. All good things must come to and end and as, luz, there you go.

John Mulaney

Despite this, there has been a lot of talk about Seth Meyers replacing SNL’s current executive producer Lorne Michaels. But if you think back to the origins of SNL that it would make a lot more sense if SNL was handed to the 40 year old John Mulaney rather than the 49-year-old Meyers.

SNL was originally created by a then 30-year-old Michaels in 1975. So, I think it would make a lot more sense for someone a little younger than Meyers be the new leader of the show.

But, remember, in general, studio execs always screw things up, so it would make a lot of sense if SNL was just unilaterally canceled without any consideration to what might happen. I do believe, in general, that a streamer would pick SNL up or there might be a freak out to the point we’ll all be talking about the cultural significance of SNL and What It All Means.

It will be interesting to see how things play out.

My Hot Take On The ‘Fly On The Wall’ Interview Of SNL Chief Lorne Michaels

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Once, long ago, I had a boss at a community newspaper that was a lot like Lorne Michaels. He was very powerful throughout the Virginia newspaper industry and he could make or break a career.

I was in a severe crisis when I started working for him and I am forever grateful that he was kind enough to help me make a graceful exit from a very, very bad workplace environment. And I feel bad that I was so whacked out from where I just came from that I wasn’t able to give him my best at the paper.

He ultimately came to hate me and he fired me because, well, I was bonkers. He’s dead now so it’s not like I can ever make it up to him.

But, like I said, when I listened to the two part Fly On The Wall podcast interview of Lorne Michaels I was taken aback by what an interesting guy he is. Michaels in the interview comes across as both extremely powerful and intimidating while also being reasonably approachable.

Lorne Michaels

I can imagine a situation where he’s a firm but fair boss who is quick to be someone’s mentor as events warrant. He reminds me of the other successful people I’ve met in my life, like the high ups at The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the occasional New York Times reporters I’ve come in contact with now and again.

Anyway. It was a very good interview that David Spade and Dana Carvey did. You should definitely check it out.

I Had A Surreal, Inspiring Dream About Lorne Michaels

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I love to be creative just to be creative. I am known to write song lyrics even though there’s absolute no point to do it. I mean, it’s not as if I’m ever going to write lyrics to a song — I don’t even know anything about music. I still have a lingering idea to buy a guitar and try to write one pop song that sells.

Lorne Michaels

Anyway, a few nights ago, I had a VERY VIVID dream involving Lorne Michaels. I dreamed I was working at SNL and, I don’t know, I was doing something at the show where I had to talk to him about a sketch I had written.

So, it has occurred to me that it would be fun to write sketches for myself and post them to this blog. I have long been interested in writing a movie, but it had never occurred to me to try to write a sketch.

I have no idea if I’m going to actually do this, but it’s something I my actually attempt. And given that I’m 100% extroverted if I’m ever going to practice laying out a screenplay then writing a sketch and posting them here would be practice.

Or not. It’s just something to think about.

John Mulaney As The Darkhorse Candidate To Replace Lorne Michaels At SNL

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Ahh, the dead of summer when absolutely nothing happens I find myself scrounging for any possible angle on any possible interesting subject to see if unusual locations pop up in my Webstats. The people coming from exotic locales like the Maldives and Seychelles Islands are the coolest because I feel like I’ve caught the attention of the Power Elite for just a moment. (This is very pathetic, but fuck you. Wink)

Things really are pretty dull at the moment.

So, here we are — in a few years, Lorne Michaels has suggested that he will retire from SNL. I’ve heard rumors that the 2025 season will be it for SNL. NBCUniversal will pull the plug and walk away.

And, yet, maybe not? The most obvious candidate to replace Michaels would be Tina Fey. But she’s a movie star and probably doesn’t want the gig. Then there’s Seth Meyers. He’s young enough and knows the show well enough that he could at least take up a part of Michaels expansive mantle.

If he doesn’t want the gig, then…maybe John Mulaney? The numbers jibe pretty well age wise — Michaels was 30 when SNL started and Mulaney is about 39 now, if my brief, lazy Google search was right. Mulvaney’s comic sensibilities are in total lock step with SNL and he would be perfect.

But we all know how the real world works — just because it would make sense for Mulaney to get the gig, doesn’t mean the NBCUniversal suits won’t look for someone else. I could see someone like Lin-Manuel Miranda being offered the gig for a few years in between Michaels and Mulaney’s tenures.

Or not. What do I know. I’m just bored and this is interesting to write about.

Imagining Life Without ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It definitely seems as though there’s a greater-than-zero-sum chance that Saturday Night Live might end with its 2025 season. It’s not unprecedented for long-running TV shows to call it quits, but for a signature show like SNL to wrap things up at its 50th year would be a Huge Deal.

What would it be like without SNL in the modern era?

As an Old, the thing I’ve noticed is how quickly the Youngs forget what has come before. So, within five or so years, there would begin to be the occasional wave of younger people who would discover this or that SNL sketch and ask Olds whatever happened to it and why it stopping being aired.

There might be talk of either brining it back or another network doing something similar, but SNL has always been something of magic in a bottle and I just can’t imagine any new, similar show being as much of an institution. SNL is so old that it harkens back to the era when there were only three TV channels, music was good and the figures of Watergate were household names.

Do I think SNL is going to shuffle off this media coil?

That is a very good question. If how the real world works is any guide, what will happen is this — Lorne Michaels will retire. NBC suits will come after the show and there will be a lot, and I mean A LOT, of chatter about it being on the cusp of being canceled once and for all.

This will cause a huge amount of blowback within Hollywood and for a few days (weeks?) it will be the thing that everyone talks about on Twitter, YouTube and podcasts. Tom Hanks may have to step in and say, “Nope, not going to allow that to happen, NBC.”

And then, NBC suits will be like, “Oh, we would NEVER cancel SNL! You guys are so silly!”

The mad scramble to figure out how will replace Michaels will begin. And, in the end, it probably will be Seth Meyers, even though Tina Fey will always be floating around, as if she might take over if necessary.

But, I can’t predict the future. Who knows what may happen.

Could SNL Just…End…After It Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Saturday Night Live finds itself in an interesting situation as it approaches its 50th anniversary. On one hand, it is doing quite well and has more cultural significance than ever for a legacy TV show. A whole new generation of people have discovered the show and there’s every reason to believe it is set for another 50 years of comedic success.

And then there’s the issue of Lorne Michaels telling everyone he wants to leave the show after its 50th anniversary in a few years.

It’s my impression that this is some chatter among the higher ups at NBCUniversal that they want to end the show once and for all for this or that reason. And I’ve reached the age where I know that SNL could very well end and in a few years a lot of young people would discover it and ask, “Whatever happened to that show? It seemed like a lot of fun.”

This is all very speculative and highly unlikely to happen. What’s more likely to happen is there will be a lot of talk about the show ending, but in the end, someone like Seth Meyers will take over some of Michaels’ role while a number of other elements are handed off to SNL stalwarts.

That would be the logical thing to do. But there have been plenty of other really long-running shows that ended and they’re barely a memory now. But I would be flabbergasted if even the harshest critics of the show at NBCUniversal would do something so draconian as to just cancel it.

But, who knows. Only time will tell.

SNL Is…Actually Good Now?


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The old saying about SNL is it’s a mediocre restaurant at a great location and if there’s one thing about the show that is consistent — it’s how inconsistent it is. It usually inhabits the same comedic space as Bob Hope and Garfield: funny, but not THAT funny.

And the show has been around long enough that it goes through an ebb and flow. Sometimes it seems to simply exist because it always has existed and sometime it has something of a renaissance. The season, it seems, Lorne Michaels has decided to go back to the show’s Not Ready For Primetime Players roots.

SNL.

Several times over the last two seasons, I’ve noticed the show has done far more edgy material. Usually, it’s really funny in the way SNL used to be funny way back in the 1970s when its type of humor was new and fresh. There is, of course, a danger to doing this.

There’s a reason why Bob Hope had a 50 year career — he was like warm milk and just kind of drifted through comedy, never being very provocative. The more provocative your humor, the less timeless it is. The addition of edgier performers like Sarah Sherman, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang has really spiced things up of late.

If you really wanted to be optimistic, you might say this is all part of a broader “vibe shift” whereby we are entering a decade with some cultural grit and personality like, say, the 1980s

Or not. Only time will tell.