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
The Banal Horror of Jimmy Fallon
“Under the sterile blue lights of his studio, Fallon laughs endlessly at the same pseudo-jokes, rubs elbows with Trump and Sam Altman, and ushers in the death of culture.”
Who Is Black Comedy For?
“A new book is nostalgic for the ’90s. But the era of crossover success was not necessarily the pinnacle of Black comedic achievement.”
It’s the Music You Hear All Day, Without Ever Noticing
“Sync music” has become the soundtrack to our lives — whether we realize it or not.
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.”
