Posted on 08/01/2025 4:22:00 AM PDT by dennisw
Saturday Night Live could be axed by NBC when its elderly creator and producer Lorne Michaels finally steps down from the money-losing show, an expert predicted.
Robert Thompson, who founded the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, shared the gloomy forecast after Stephen Colbert's talk show was canceled by CBS.
He thinks NBC may be moved to axe legendary sketch comedy show SNL and Michaels' other shows for the network - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers - when the 80-year-old mogul decides to retire. Speaking days after CNBC revealed SNL, Fallon and Meyers lose a combined $100 million a year, Thompson said, '(Lorne Michaels) cant keep doing that forever.
'If he decides to retire, or cant do those shows anymore, NBC would be [in] an interesting position.' He continued, adding the network would have the 'opportunity to get out of late night in one fell swoop instead of overhauling every program.
'It would be the easiest time to say, we had a good run.' Thompson told the Daily Mail part of the reason the shows are 'vulnerable' is the challenge that NBC faces in replacing Michaels, a visionary who first created SNL in 1975.
SNL remains a cultural zenith that attracts the most elite of A-list celebrities to guest host and perform musical acts. It's also been a launch pad for some of the greatest names in comedy
It costs $4 million an episode to produce, or around $100 million a year annually.
But even those numbers are not enough to help SNL or its stablemates Fallon and Meyers cover their costs with traditional advertising, CNBC reported, which has declined across the board as viewers shun linear TV for streamers.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I have not watched SNL since 1997 or so. Phil Hartman was one of the best back then. I was shocked when his crazy wife killed him.
Maybe they could try being funny.
L
Haven’t watched it 4ever, last time I watched it was funny, thats how long.
EDL Every Day Live. There is real comedy (and tragedy) every day. Enjoy this wonderful life.
“NBC may be moved to axe legendary sketch comedy show SNL...”
That show has been living off of its reputation for at least 30 years.
I once heard Lorne Michael’s say as long as he had anything to do with, snl would always be on the air....so yeah, it would take him stepping down to finally flush that rank turd down the crapper.
Constantly kicking 60% of your potential audience in the teeth may be part of the reason.
Like most network TV, SNL is pure propaganda programming, not some money-making entertainment.
It’s been that way for decades.
SNL quit being funny when they decided that Democrats were off-limits. It left too much comedy on the cutting room floor
I think I’ve seen 2 or less episodes of SNL drivel in over 50 years.
Hasn’t been funny for a long time. Mostly woke propaganda.
It was the mid 80’s for me. Maybe they should revamp the show to just have a bunch of Gen Z’ers sitting around a room staring at their phones and letting out an occasional laugh.
USAID or other government funding sources have been propping up the “News Business” and the “Entertainment Business” in order to manipulate the public. This has been going on for decades. Now the hidden money is going away and the “business” has to actually pursue a path that can achieve “profits”. It’s a harsh world.
Slicing your potential audience in half and then going from there is a terrible business strategy. To me, it’s really that simple. But they’d rather go down with the ship and whine one last time about “fascist censorship” before they sink into the dark abyss of history.
>> EDL Every Day Live. There is real comedy (and tragedy) every day. Enjoy this wonderful life.
^^^^ THIS. WELL SAID AND SO TRUE. THANKS! ^^^^^
They could try digging up the corpses of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman and any other dead former SNL cast member and the show would be funnier than what it now is.
USAID or other government funding sources have been propping up the “News Business” and the “Entertainment Business” in order to manipulate the public. This has been going on for decades. Now the hidden money is going away and the “business” has to actually pursue a path that can achieve “profits”. It’s a harsh world.
Exactly. That’s my theory too. This is why the likes of Colbert and such are falling.
SNL went from sophomoric humor with some level of humor to just boring political soapboxing.
I haven’t seen SNL since Phil Hartman. The show sucks.
Exactly why I stopped watching years ago. Same for late night TV. A recent study showed Colbert had like 170 Liberals as guests over a given period and 1 Conservative. Kimmel is the worst. I'm surprised the GOP hasn't demanded air time on late night TV under the FCC's Equal Time provisions.
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