Will Saturday Night Live Return in 2023?

Saturday Night Live has had a rough go of things over the past few years. Season 45 was cut short in 2020 because of the global pandemic, forcing the cast and crew of the hit sketch comedy to produce the last remaining shows of the year entirely from home. The next year, much of the cast came down with COVID-19 and had to cut the first half of the season short right before the holidays. Fast forward to 2023 and the series once again had an abbreviated season, this time wrapping up early because of the Writers Guild of America strike.

With the WGA strike still going, and the recent implementation of a strike from those in SAG-AFTRA, it doesn’t look like Saturday Night Live will be returning to 30 Rock anytime. In fact, don’t anticipate to see any new editions of the live sketch comedy until both strikes are resolved. At the current rate, many insiders still suggest the guilds and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are still far apart of negotiations with some even saying there’s currently “no end in sight.”

Lorne Michaels and the executives behind SNL typically start announcing departures and new arrivals every September with the series going live in October, though it appears that won’t be the case this year.

When is Lorne Michaels leaving SNL?

Many have thought Michaels may leave the show with its upcoming Season 50, which is set to debut in the fall of 2024. The rumors gained enough steam, SNL mainstay Kenan Thompson addressed them last year by agreeing the time could be a good point to stop the show.

“I mean, there could be a lot of validity to that rumor because 50 is a good number to stop at, you know what I’m saying, that’s an incredible package. [Michaels] will be, you know, probably close to 80-years-old at that point and, you know, he’s the one that’s had his touch on the whole thing,” Kenan told Charlamagne tha God in 2022. “So if somebody tries to come into his shoes, you know it’s a good opportunity for NBC as well, you know what I’m saying, so maybe they might slash the budget. And then at that point you can’t really do the same kind of show, so that’s unfair to just watch it really go down kind of in flames or whatever like for real for real because of those restrictions, you know what I’m saying. And it’ll just be a different thing, so capping it at 50 might not be a bad idea, I don’t know.”

Virtually every SNL episode, other than the select few locked away for good because of a variety of reasons, is now available to watch on Peacock. You can sign up for the streaming platform here.