Susan Morrison’s biography of Lorne Michaels, which just hit bookstore shelves, is incredibly well reported and written. It’s also an authorized biography—which is even more apparent after you read Reeves Wiedeman’s penetrating New York feature about the future of Saturday Night Live. Wiedeman circumnavigates Michaels’ infamous power and reach by utilizing various source-protection methods, none of which lessen the impact of the jaw-dropping anecdotes and candor from NBC executives and cast members. I’ve read a lot about this show and Lorne Michaels, but I don’t think I’ve ever read something that cuts past the mythmaking quite so keenly.
A clear hierarchy has always existed at SNL. Last fall, during a series of photo shoots for this magazine with cast members from all 50 years of SNL, Seth Meyers surveyed the assembled group during one shoot — which included Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Kenan Thompson, and Steve Martin — and exclaimed, “Lorne’s ten favorites!” Another shoot later on included a different group: Rachel Dratch, Chris Kattan, Joe Piscopo. When Tim Meadows walked in, unaware of Meyers’s earlier comment, he said, “What is this — Lorne’s least favorites?”
More picks about television
Everyone Is Stealing TV
“Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes.”
An Experience for Me
“On Nathan Fielder and the rise of auto-performance.”
Hollywood Has Left L.A.
“For years, studios found it cheaper to shoot elsewhere. Post-industry-collapse, elsewhere is the only place they’ll shoot.”
How I Learned to Become an Intimacy Coördinator
“At a sex-choreography workshop, a writer discovered a world of Instant Chemistry exercises, penis pouches, and nudity riders to train for Hollywood’s most controversial job.”
Our Narrative Prison
“The three-act ‘hero’s journey’ has long been the most prominent kind of story. What other tales are there to tell?”
A ‘Jeopardy!’ Win 24 Years in the Making
“Harvey Silikovitz first auditioned for ‘Jeopardy!’ in 2001. On Monday, he finally got a chance to play.”
