Even at 78 years old, Lorne Michaels has no plans to retire from his head-honcho duties at Saturday Night Live! He even said so, verbatim, just a year ago in an interview with The New York Times. The longtime showrunner even called the 47th season a "rebirth" and a "year of reinvention." But without an election cycle to spoof, ratings remained low. Still, even though the king of sketch comedy is showing no signs of giving up the gig, succession plans must be in motion, right?
Well, a recent report suggests that NBC might already have a preferred option for SNL's future leader. Last week, an unnamed source told the New York Post that former SNL head writer and "Weekend Update" host Tina Fey is "being courted" to take over the role.
After SNL, Tina Fey starred on the popular NBC sitcom 30 Rock with Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and Jane Krakowski. Most recently, she turned her Mean Girls script into a Broadway musical. Fey has yet to comment on the report. In fact, a spokesperson from NBC responded to an ET Canada piece on the subject, stating that "there is no truth" to the rumors.
Even so, you have to ask: What would a total overhaul for SNL look like? What would Fey change about the nearly 50-year-old show? As recent sketch series such as I Think You Should Leave and The Eric Andre Show have proved, the format and tone of SNL could probably use a proper update.
As an assistant editor at Esquire, Rosenberg covers film, TV, sports, anime, music, and video games. When he’s not trying to remember character names from House of the Dragon, you can find him theorizing about the future of Yellowstone, or putting another hundred hours into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rosenberg's standout stories include an interview with Olympic breakdancing athlete Victor Montalvo, a pitch to the Oscars to add a Best Animal Actor category, and a plea for Hollywood to fix bad movie titles. His past work can be found at Spin, Insider, and his personal blog at Roseandblog.com. What’s one piece of life advice that Josh can give? A movie a day keeps the doctor away.
Follow Rosenberg on Twitter/X @Roseandblog and check out his “Good Movie List” on Letterboxd: @Movies4MePlease
![new york, new york august 13: aubrey plaza attends the honey dont new york screening at metrograph on august 13, 2025 in new york city. (photo by arturo holmes/wireimage)](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2230010410-68a482a9910cf.jpg?crop=0.556xw:0.371xh;0.236xw,0.115xh&resize=360:* ""Honey Don't" New York Screening")
