Saturday Night Live: Lorne Michaels Hints at Potential Successors

The 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live arrives next year, but series creator Lorne Michaels isn’t ready to hang it up just yet. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Michaels not only had a tease for what they have planned to celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live but addressed the big topic, his potential successor. Michaels has previously given no indication that he has any intention of stopping his work on the series, but in this interview did admit he has considered potential replacements to fill his shoes whenever he does decide to retire. 

“Of course I’ve thought about it, but isn’t sort of….” Michaels trailed off, changing the subject to the upcoming anniversary. “We’re doing the 50th anniversary show in February of ’25, so I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that, and sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do.”

When asked about the topic of his Saturday Night Live successor, specifically that fans believe Tina Fey would be a good fit for the role, Michaels indicated he was in favor of that idea but also noted that some names currently involved with the series might also be a good fit for it. He added: “It could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know..Tina’s brilliant and great at everything. She’s a very important person in my life.”

Tina Fey was previously involved with Saturday Night Live from 1997 through 2006, rising to the title of Head Writer in just two years and then stepping in front of the camera in the year 2000. She would co-host Weekend Update until 2006, becoming the longest-serving Weekend Update anchor at the time of her departure (her record has since been broken). Fey previously won a Primetime Emmy Award for writing on the series as well.

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. 

New Saturday Night Live Hosts

With the SAG-AFTRA Strike still without a resolution, Saturday Night Live is unable to tap actors to host new episodes since previously they would only appear on the series to promote some new work (prohibited by the rules of the SAG-AFTRA strike). As a result comedians and musicians have been the only hosts confirmed for Saturday Night Live season 49 with Pete Davidson, Bad Bunny, and Nate Bargatze taking the spotlight for the first three episodes.

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.