Especially in the two years since “Saturday Night Live” celebrated its legacy with a 50-year anniversary special, one question has loomed over the iconic sketch comedy series: Who will replace creator and producer Lorne Michaels for the next 50?
Michaels, 81, hasn’t formally acknowledged any retirement is in the works, but that hasn’t stopped fans of the NBC stalwart and “SNL” alum alike from speculating who might be up for the gig.
Jason Sudeikis, who joined the writers’ room in 2003 before becoming a cast member 2005-2013, sat with Sam Fragoso for his “Talk Easy” podcast on Sunday, and he opened up about who he thinks should carry Michaels’ baton next.
One suggestion even brought a tear to his eye when asked point blank if he thinks the job is Tina Fey’s for the taking.
Pretty neat. It is, man. She’s, I mean, I’d be dying. I mean, who would be mad about that?” Sudeikis said, adding that he hopes she would do it and that the thought genuinely makes him feel good.
“I think it’s neat. It makes me feel good,” he said. “Same kind of thing, like, with, you know stuff where it’s like, ‘Oh I’m almost near tears thinking about it’? That’s that’s usually a good sign. I think that’s beautiful. I think that’s a beautiful idea. Now, that’s not enough of a reason for Tina to do it.”
Watch the full interview below:
Sudeikis also reflected on whether or not “SNL” could even survive without Michaels’ calling the shots, pointing to the five years in 1980-1985 that he was not involved in the program and it still survived without him. (That period is in part chronicled within Morgan Neville’s “Lorne” documentary from earlier this year.)
“It did [survive] barely for those five years without him. And I think it’s only gotten stronger and better,” Sudeikis said. “Now, will it be the same in the sense of the infrastructure and the, like, business side of it? That’s above my pay grade. Like, would they be given the same leniencies?
“I think you’d be in good hands,” he continued. “I mean, there’s probably a few people. I think Seth [Meyers] could do a really good job too. Like, yeah, it’s kind of fun to think about. But I would only be down with it if Lorne is.”
