Lorne Michaels prepares for a transitional year ofSaturday Night LiveAfter a huge cast shakeup, Season 48 is now underway. Michaels discusses how the eight cast members who were fired from the NBC sketch series have been replaced.
“We got to a point where we had a lot of people, and people weren’t getting enough playing time,”He spoke to the New York TimesInterview. “The way the series has survived is by that level of renewal. The price of success is that people go off and do other things; their primary obligation is to their talent and to keep pushing that.”
Michaels stated that the pandemic had also occurred. “interfered”With the “natural time”Some comics will be saying goodbye to the show. “We try to do the best with the cast that was there, and at the same time, my first responsibility is to keep the show fresh. Things grow stale. I don’t think we’d gotten stale, because the people we had were so gifted and at their peak.”
‘SNL’Lorne Michaels addresses Season 48 Cast Changes and Reveals That There Will At Least Four New Castmembers
Deadline announced in May that Kate McKinnon (with Aidy Bryant) and Kyle Mooney, who were both leaving the late-night program at the end the season, had been confirmed by Deadline. Ahead of the Season 48 premiere, it was revealed that Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari were not returning either with Chris Redd also exiting the show.
However, the new season will see the addition of four new comedians with Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker joining theSNL cast. Michaels toldNYTHe feels that the cast members are his new friends “are fresh.”
“They bring things we don’t have and they’re complementary to the people we already have,” Michaels explained. “The new people could last for years. They’re not load-bearing walls. They’re not yet what they’re going to be, but at least half of the fun of watching the show is watching people that are beginning and discovering them.”
The show’s last segment will not change is “Weekend Update,”The event will be hosted by Colin Jost & Michael Che. Michaels said that he has the need “that part to be as solid as it is”This is before the midterm elections in this year.
Saturday Night LiveSeason 48 premieres October 1st with Miles Teller hosting the event and Kendrick Larra as the musical guest.