Colin Jost and Michael Che on how'd they feel taking over “SNL” from Lorne Michaels: 'That would be so strange'
"Imagine being the stepfather of a 50-year-old," Che joked as he considered the idea of taking the helm of the long-running series.
Colin Jost and Michael Che have no interest in replacing Lorne Michaels as Saturday Night Live's head honcho.
In an interview with The Howard Stern Show, the longtime SNL writers and Weekend Update cohosts reflected on what it would be like to fill Michaels' shoes when he eventually departs the show. "Oh my God, could you imagine having to do that?" Che said after Howard Stern asked if he'd consider taking over for Michaels. "I don't know how you do that job and not be Lorne. It's in his image, and it's gonna be so strange."
Che added that the thought had never even crossed his mind.
"I don't think about that at all. That's a tough job," he said. "I don't think people realize — I mean, I think you realize how difficult of a job that is — but I don't think people really put in perspective of what you actually have to do. It's scary as hell."
Jost noted that Michaels also deals with an overwhelming amount of communications from SNL's vast network of alumni. "It's been on 50 years, right? So there have been 50 years of cast members, 50 years of writers," Jost said. "And he maintains, in some way, some kind of relationship with so many of them. And so many people go through so many things in their lives, that then he often has to either deal with or talk to them about. There's so much other outreach beyond running the current show, that I always think about how much that must weigh on him."
Related: John Mulaney recalls Lorne Michaels invoking the death of John Belushi amid struggles with addiction
Jost also recognized that Michaels has numerous other responsibilities outside of the day-to-day production of the comedy series. "Let alone the things we're protected from, like dealings with the network, or if there's, like, in the '90s, the ratings were lower, or the network didn't like the cast, and he's gotta deal with that stuff," he said. "That's a whole other part of the job that none of us have to do."
Che said that Jost's concerns about the job didn't contribute to his own disinterest in the position. "I wasn't even thinking about that," he said. "To me, it's like, imagine being the stepfather of a 50-year-old. That's what you're stepping into [in] that role. It's just impossible, it's just really hard to do."
Jost is also apprehensive that SNL might change for the worse once Michaels vacates his duties. "We obviously care about it. You want it to keep going in some way," he said. "And when it's done well, it's a really unique thing. So it would be sad if it changed or got weird, you know? That's the other side of it that might be hard to see."
"I'm hiring all Black dudes," Che cracked.
Michaels has repeatedly suggested that he'll retire after the show's forthcoming 50th season. "We're doing the 50th anniversary show in February of '25, so I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that, and sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do," Michaels told Entertainment Tonight at the Emmys in January. He also noted that his successor "could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know…"
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
However, Seth Meyers, who worked under Michaels on SNL from 2001 to 2014, doesn't believe that his former boss will actually step down so soon. "I think this is a false narrative that Lorne is going anywhere," he said. "I think it made sense for Lorne — who's, yeah, got a flair for the dramatic — to say, 'I think I’'l be done at 50… it's not like Lorne's got something else he wants to do more than this."
Watch the full clip from The Howard Stern Show above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.