Saturday Night Live: Adam Sandler Doesn’t Think Lorne Michaels Will Retire

As Saturday Night Live nears its milestone 50th season, viewers of the live sketch comedy are wondering if Lorne Michaels will soon retire and pave the way for a new figurehead to the show. Amid speculation Tina Fey is someone who could take Michaels’ spot overseeing Studio 8H, Adam Sandler says he doesn’t think his former boss will ever retire.

“I don’t see that happening,” Sandler said in a recent chat with Entertainment Tonight. “I don’t, maybe somebody said he might, but I talked to Lorne, I don’t think he’s saying enough. He’s rocking. He loves it.” 

Michaels himself previously said he intends to stay with the show through its 50th season, hinting in 2021 talks were already happening to find a successor.

“You know, I think I’m committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” the producer told CBS Mornings at the time. “I’d like to see that through, and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave. But … 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 going to do everything I can to see it carry on.”

“Of course, I have a sense of where we’re headed with that, you know,” he added. When pressed for more information, he added “I’m not going to go on about it — it’s three years away.”

Who is in the Saturday Night Live cast?

Cast members for Saturday Night Live season 49 include almost the entire cast from season 48 of SNL. Returning stars include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang. Featured players that are part of the cast include returning stars Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, plus the show’s only fully new cast member for the year, newcomer Chloe Troast. The comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy, made up of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, are also a recurring part of the series.

Saturday Night Live Season 49 is ongoing now with new episodes airing on both NBC and Peacock, starting Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET. All 48  seasons of Saturday Night Live are also now streaming on Peacock.