The season 51 forged of Saturday Night Live might look somewhat different than last 12 months, in keeping with showrunner Lorne Michaels.
Michaels, 80, told Puck in a profile published on Sunday, August 24, that he hoped to shake up the casting lineup.
“Last season, after we were on the party of the primary show, quarter of 4 within the morning, Dana [Carvey, who played Joe Biden], comes over to me and says, ‘I don’t think anyone knows you called me June 4th [to play Biden],’” Michaels said. “I wanted people coming back and being a part of [the 50th season].”
He continued, “So when Kate [McKinnon] hosted, Kristen [Wiig] and Maya [Rudolph] got here back for it. That meant there couldn’t be those sort of disruptions, or anything that was going to take the main focus off [the 50th season]. And we had an election.”
SNL wrapped its landmark fiftieth season within the spring shortly after the election cycle. The forged included Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Michael Che, James Austin Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, Marcello Hernández, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, in addition to a handful of latest players.
While speaking with Puck, Michaels admitted that there was pressure to reinvent the show this upcoming season.
“Yeah, needless to say. It’ll be announced in per week or so,” Michaels teased, only confirming that Johnson’s gig was protected. (Johnson, 36, impersonated President Donald Trump throughout season 50.)
While Michaels didn’t mention some other SNL forged member by name, he did hint at his intentions to delegate certain responsibilities.
“[It’s] already been happening [in] the past 12 months or so. More individuals are involved in the alternatives and in the selections,” Michaels said. “There’s lots of people in that room with lots of opinions. I make the ultimate decision, obviously. However it’s not as if people don’t let me know the way strongly they feel.”
Michaels had put together the large-scale and star-studded SNL50 festivities amid the weekly episodes last 12 months.
“I didn’t get to see anybody [during the show], and never on the party either. I used to be down front, because I needed access to the stage,” he recalled. “My family was there, and I used to be really excited that they were there. I’d make eye contact with people on a regular basis, after which occasionally I’d rise up and go to the control room. I didn’t get to spend time with anyone.”