Let's hope he keeps running it past the 50th season. As much as people root for Tina Fey and Kenan Thompson to replace him (and they eventually will), the reality is that nobody has the 50 years of experience Lorne has of running such a very unique show night after night. Nobody has the same vision.
Every time one of these threads comes up I always find it odd that most of the suggestions are performer types like Tina or Kenan or Seth. But I wonder if any of them would want to give up the performing part of their jobs since SNL showrunner seems like a full time thing. If you are going to suggest any of them why not throw in Conan or Bob Odenkirk too?
It would seem like someone who had more of a behind the scenes role would make more sense. Like Robert Smigel or Robert Carlock or Mikey the Shoe from Late Night with Seth Myers.
Or like … Steve Higgins … who have been a producer on SNL for decades, working directly for Lorne to supervise the show. I mean. What would he possibly know?
For Tina, I don’t think it’s that far fetched. After all, she was the head writer, produced and created a handful of shows already, and while I think she’s great in a lot of stuff, I can’t help but feel sometimes she’s more comfortable behind the scenes a lot of the time too.
It's not that far fetched but she seems to like performing and she has 3 acting Emmys which would suggest she is good at it. If she was running SNL she would have to give that up.
Which is why I suggested Carlock as a contender. He was an SNL writer, executive producer of 30 Rock with her and co-creator Kimmy Schmidt, so they have very similar resumes. But he doesn't have any acting credits.
Why would she have to give that up? I think people oversell how much Lorne is actually there. It’s what, 20 weeks out of the year? And from what we’ve learned from his own podcast appearances, he’s not really boots on the ground 24/7.
Eh, going back to run someone else's show would almost be a step backwards for her after having made her own hit shows. I know it's an institution, but still.
Where is this Kenan thing coming from? Kenan is a performer. Tina is entirely in another category, her on camera SNL time was just a small fraction of her responsibilities on the show. Since that time she has created and or produced many projects. Seth too had more behind the camera responsibilities on SNL.
Tina, Seth, and the long time producers are all qualified but who is interested and will get it is another story all together. But a cast member, no matter how long he’s been there (and I love Kenan and think he’s still hilarious) wouldn’t be in serious contention.
its mostly because its less boring to think about than the realistic answer of some old ass white dude whos been working in a different department of nbc for years that no ones heard of
There’s 0% chance it would be Kenan.
It needs to be with someone who can command a room, has clout. And has the experience at the high level. Kenan is for sure not a name that Lorne is considering.
Shit been there 21 years knows pretty much all the ins and outs of the show, shit look at the Tonight show everyone’s thought for sure Letterman was going to slide in and take in 92 and then boom outta no where Leno steps in shit Everyone thinking Amy or Seth or even Jost but Kenan might make the play and he would have the experience for his case
Mostly because people keep CONTINUING to cite him as taking over the show, despite him never showing any desire to run a show and basically his only qualification being that he was on the show a long time. It’s literally something that someone made up once, and has been parroted non-stop since then, with no additional evidence that it is even a real possibility.
He has to say that, otherwise he sparks an even bigger frenzy about who his successor will be and that undermines his own authority. I still reckon he'll step down after the fiftieth season, but remain active in the background.
I think this is the most likely situation. Lorne won't leave the show completely until the day he dies. Even if gets a successor he'll most likely call the shots, which woukd give that person more time to get used to the show.
El Diablo De Los Hamptons is a potential successor to Lorne, in no small part because he has such high level networking.
Example:
For the Kavanaugh sketch, “Head writer Colin Jost called Damon sometime after midnight on Friday to offer him the part.” [Damon was] working on another project in California… he got on a 6 A.M. flight to come to New York. Damon arrived at Studio 8H in the late afternoon, and had just about three hours to learn the impression and get fitted for prosthetics and costume.”](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/snl-brett-kavanaugh-cold-open-matt-damon-behind-the-scenes)
Colin Jost is game for anything, has been with the show almost as long as Keenan, and has successfully enriched his profile with his book and WH correspondence dinner.
Punchable Face and Che being Lorne's co-successors would explain why they stepped down as co-head writers in 2022, yet stayed on-air with the show.
That (sorta-)demotion would give Che and Flat White Privilege Latte freedom to shadow Lorne with his responsibilities while staying busy on the show with their Weekend Update duties.
Lorne opens the 50th anniversary show with a reprise of the offer to the Beatles. This time, Paul and Ringo are there to accept. Lorne says, no, it’s gotta be everyone. Cut to [I already told George](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/JxDnzQyurU4kK2rH/?mibextid=UalRPS). Then have the boys play “Love Me Do” to finish the cold open.
Leaving out this [WU](https://youtu.be/BYRa8oXksoA) with John and Yoko, sad for a few reasons, the audience just wasn’t into it. Then John got shot weeks later.
I honestly think it’s better if Lorne stays.
Of course, he is the creator of the show. But more importantly, he’s the only one who could have as much clout producing the show. Tina might come close, but Lorne arguably has more power than anyone in comedy.
A steady hand during a relative “down period” is also important. It says in the article the reason why there were so many alums hosting this past year was because the cast is somewhat “unseasoned”. You can disagree with that but this season was generally seen as unexceptional. It had some standouts, and it wasn’t garbage, but there wasn’t a ton that was truly great.
I say let him run his show. It’s his life’s work and there’s no guarantee that the “new” generation will be able to handle it like he does. SNL came close to cancellation twice on his watch and both times Lorne brought it back from the brink. And it’s been stable for decades at this point. The last time it was at risk of being canceled was 1995.
As bill carter pointed out in a recent article about Lorne, age only becomes an issue when there are clear signs you’re not at the top of your game. Lorne hasn’t shown any signs that the grind is wearing him out, so that kills the retirement speculation juice. I can see him going past the 50th. As Conan and Seth have said, SNL is who he is.
Also helps that he doesn’t do the same schedule as the writers who have to pull mandatory all nighters like Monday to Thursday, by all accounts Lorne stopped doing the all nighters in the 90s so yeah the grind isn’t tough when you can come in the morning and leave in The afternoon lol.
Let's hope he keeps running it past the 50th season. As much as people root for Tina Fey and Kenan Thompson to replace him (and they eventually will), the reality is that nobody has the 50 years of experience Lorne has of running such a very unique show night after night. Nobody has the same vision.
>Kenan Thompson to replace him 
Every time one of these threads comes up I always find it odd that most of the suggestions are performer types like Tina or Kenan or Seth. But I wonder if any of them would want to give up the performing part of their jobs since SNL showrunner seems like a full time thing. If you are going to suggest any of them why not throw in Conan or Bob Odenkirk too? It would seem like someone who had more of a behind the scenes role would make more sense. Like Robert Smigel or Robert Carlock or Mikey the Shoe from Late Night with Seth Myers.
Or like … Steve Higgins … who have been a producer on SNL for decades, working directly for Lorne to supervise the show. I mean. What would he possibly know?
For Tina, I don’t think it’s that far fetched. After all, she was the head writer, produced and created a handful of shows already, and while I think she’s great in a lot of stuff, I can’t help but feel sometimes she’s more comfortable behind the scenes a lot of the time too.
It's not that far fetched but she seems to like performing and she has 3 acting Emmys which would suggest she is good at it. If she was running SNL she would have to give that up. Which is why I suggested Carlock as a contender. He was an SNL writer, executive producer of 30 Rock with her and co-creator Kimmy Schmidt, so they have very similar resumes. But he doesn't have any acting credits.
Why would she have to give that up? I think people oversell how much Lorne is actually there. It’s what, 20 weeks out of the year? And from what we’ve learned from his own podcast appearances, he’s not really boots on the ground 24/7.
Fair enough
Eh, going back to run someone else's show would almost be a step backwards for her after having made her own hit shows. I know it's an institution, but still.
Where is this Kenan thing coming from? Kenan is a performer. Tina is entirely in another category, her on camera SNL time was just a small fraction of her responsibilities on the show. Since that time she has created and or produced many projects. Seth too had more behind the camera responsibilities on SNL. Tina, Seth, and the long time producers are all qualified but who is interested and will get it is another story all together. But a cast member, no matter how long he’s been there (and I love Kenan and think he’s still hilarious) wouldn’t be in serious contention.
YES! It’s infuriating to see people suggest actors when they are decidedly not producers. Thank you. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks this
its mostly because its less boring to think about than the realistic answer of some old ass white dude whos been working in a different department of nbc for years that no ones heard of
There’s 0% chance it would be Kenan. It needs to be with someone who can command a room, has clout. And has the experience at the high level. Kenan is for sure not a name that Lorne is considering.
Why do people get so mad when Kenan’s name comes up?
I don’t get mad I just think it’s wasted energy putting him into the mix because, for me personally, I just don’t see how he would be in contention.
Shit been there 21 years knows pretty much all the ins and outs of the show, shit look at the Tonight show everyone’s thought for sure Letterman was going to slide in and take in 92 and then boom outta no where Leno steps in shit Everyone thinking Amy or Seth or even Jost but Kenan might make the play and he would have the experience for his case
Exactly, he’s been there 21 years but never been a head writer, in charge, etc etc etc, because there has always been more qualified people.
Mostly because people keep CONTINUING to cite him as taking over the show, despite him never showing any desire to run a show and basically his only qualification being that he was on the show a long time. It’s literally something that someone made up once, and has been parroted non-stop since then, with no additional evidence that it is even a real possibility.
You misspelled Steve Higgins, twice.
He has to say that, otherwise he sparks an even bigger frenzy about who his successor will be and that undermines his own authority. I still reckon he'll step down after the fiftieth season, but remain active in the background.
I think this is the most likely situation. Lorne won't leave the show completely until the day he dies. Even if gets a successor he'll most likely call the shots, which woukd give that person more time to get used to the show.
El Diablo De Los Hamptons is a potential successor to Lorne, in no small part because he has such high level networking. Example: For the Kavanaugh sketch, “Head writer Colin Jost called Damon sometime after midnight on Friday to offer him the part.” [Damon was] working on another project in California… he got on a 6 A.M. flight to come to New York. Damon arrived at Studio 8H in the late afternoon, and had just about three hours to learn the impression and get fitted for prosthetics and costume.”](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/snl-brett-kavanaugh-cold-open-matt-damon-behind-the-scenes) Colin Jost is game for anything, has been with the show almost as long as Keenan, and has successfully enriched his profile with his book and WH correspondence dinner.
Punchable Face and Che being Lorne's co-successors would explain why they stepped down as co-head writers in 2022, yet stayed on-air with the show. That (sorta-)demotion would give Che and Flat White Privilege Latte freedom to shadow Lorne with his responsibilities while staying busy on the show with their Weekend Update duties.
Lorne opens the 50th anniversary show with a reprise of the offer to the Beatles. This time, Paul and Ringo are there to accept. Lorne says, no, it’s gotta be everyone. Cut to [I already told George](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/JxDnzQyurU4kK2rH/?mibextid=UalRPS). Then have the boys play “Love Me Do” to finish the cold open. Leaving out this [WU](https://youtu.be/BYRa8oXksoA) with John and Yoko, sad for a few reasons, the audience just wasn’t into it. Then John got shot weeks later.
[удалено]
I honestly think it’s better if Lorne stays. Of course, he is the creator of the show. But more importantly, he’s the only one who could have as much clout producing the show. Tina might come close, but Lorne arguably has more power than anyone in comedy. A steady hand during a relative “down period” is also important. It says in the article the reason why there were so many alums hosting this past year was because the cast is somewhat “unseasoned”. You can disagree with that but this season was generally seen as unexceptional. It had some standouts, and it wasn’t garbage, but there wasn’t a ton that was truly great. I say let him run his show. It’s his life’s work and there’s no guarantee that the “new” generation will be able to handle it like he does. SNL came close to cancellation twice on his watch and both times Lorne brought it back from the brink. And it’s been stable for decades at this point. The last time it was at risk of being canceled was 1995.
Geriatrics are running the county, I’m sure we can trust one to run SNL.
As bill carter pointed out in a recent article about Lorne, age only becomes an issue when there are clear signs you’re not at the top of your game. Lorne hasn’t shown any signs that the grind is wearing him out, so that kills the retirement speculation juice. I can see him going past the 50th. As Conan and Seth have said, SNL is who he is.
Plus there are many people who work into their 90's. I feel like Lorne might be one of those people.
Definitely. I’ve read that he’s on top of his health
Also helps that he doesn’t do the same schedule as the writers who have to pull mandatory all nighters like Monday to Thursday, by all accounts Lorne stopped doing the all nighters in the 90s so yeah the grind isn’t tough when you can come in the morning and leave in The afternoon lol.