Lorne Michaels Will Never ‘Walk Away’ From SNL, Seth Meyers Says

Seth Meyers has already made it clear he’s not gunning for the show creator Lorne Michaels’ job at Saturday Night Live, and now he’s shedding light on why he believes the conversation of who might succeed the storied producer is moot—for now.

On the latest episode of Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast, Meyers reiterated that he has no particular interest in taking over for Micheals should that ever be a question, and in any case, “I just can’t imagine a reason that [Lorne] would walk away.”

“There are people that love some eras of SNL and there are people that love other eras of SNL,” Meyers continued, “Lorne has always loved SNL.” Even though some have speculated (based on his own comments) that Michaels may step down during the show’s much anticipated 50th season, Meyers is skeptical: “I think that it’s dumb money to think that Lorne is stepping down after the 50th [anniversary of the show].”

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Rumors about who would one day take over for 79-year-old Michaels have swirled for the past year, with Meyers, as well as SNL alum Tina Fey’s names as the most oft-mentioned. Michaels admitted to Entertainment Tonight in January, “Of course I’ve thought about,” who would succeed him. When asked about Fey, he responded, “It could easily be Tina Fey,” and despite speculation following Michaels’ comment, Fey has stayed conspicuously silent.

Michaels also added at the time that there are “a lot of people who are there now who are also” good potential replacements, without naming any besides Fey. The only thing Michaels expressed with certainty was that he would “definitely be there for [the 50th anniversary show] and definitely be there until that,” and added that “sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re going to do”—but nothing has been announced as the show’s 50th season approaches this month with a massive primetime special set for February of next year.

Walter McBride

The job is one that not many SNL-ers are clamoring to do. Meyers explained more on The Town: “Taking over for Lorne Michaels is not a job that has a lot of appeal. I think there’s this idea that you can work with Lorne and figure out how to be Lorne, [but] the things that Lorne does for that show, that are sort of hard to put your finger on, are just massive.”

Current cast members Colin Jost and Michael Che agreed that the prospect of taking over for Michaels would be “scary as hell,” during their recent appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show. “Imagine being the stepfather of a 50-year-old—that’s what you’re stepping into,” Che joked. “I don’t know how you do that job and not be Lorne. It’s like in his image; that’d be so strange.”

Both comedians also shared that “not once” had either of them been approached about potentially taking over for Michaels, as Jost added, “There’s so much other outreach beyond running the current show, [and] I always think about how much that must weigh on [Lorne] and how much he has to do in that way.”

Meyers echoed that point when he said on Belloni’s podcast, “I loved working [at SNL] more than anything, but being Lorne’s right hand man is a lot more fun than being Lorne.”