Lorne Michaels says ‘SNL’ legend Tina Fey could ‘easily’ take over his job one day
(From left) Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels at the New York premiere of "Mean Girls" earlier this month.
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — “Saturday Night Live” longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels has a few ideas about who may be best fit to succeed him when the comedic visionary retires.
One of those potential successors could be esteemed “SNL” alum Tina Fey, whose name came up while Michaels was talking to Entertainment Tonight on the Emmys red carpet on Monday.
“It could easily be Tina Fey,” he told the publication. Later on in the interview, Michaels said he thinks Fey is “brilliant and great at everything.”
“She’s a very important person in my life,” he added, while also noting that there are a number of current “SNL” staffers who would also be a solid fit – but stopped short of naming names.
Michaels, 79, has been affiliated with “Saturday Night Live” since creating it in 1975. He has acted as producer or executive producer of over 820 episodes of the NBC comedy sketch show, and has written for 850 episodes.
Fey certainly knows enough about the ins and outs of “SNL” to join the ranks at the top, herself. She previously served as a head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor during her time on the show from 1997 to 2006, and has returned six times to host.
Michaels and Fey have also spent time collaborating outside of Studio 8H, having co-produced iconic movies including 2004’s original “Mean Girls” and this year’s “Mean Girls” musical reboot, plus NBC’s workplace comedy “30 Rock.”
Michaels admitted on Monday that while he has indeed thought about retiring, for now, at least, he’s staying put.
“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,” he said. Sometime before the milestone, he said, “we’ll figure out what we’re going to do” in terms of his future with the show.
Until then, Michaels’ joy for watching the show each week hasn’t wavered. “I love it,” he said, adding that these days, in fact, he finds himself loving the show “more than ever.”
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