Kenan Thompson Says ‘Saturday Night Live’ Could End At Season 50
Kenan Thompson thinks the end of Saturday Night Live could come pretty soon. In a new interview, the longest-running cast member said, “Fifty is a good number to stop at. Well, I need to start planning, but there could be a lot of validity to that rumor.”
With Season 48 coming this fall and with show creator Lorne Michaels turning 80 during the sketch comedy show’s 50th season, rumors of when the show would come to an end have been circulating. Per Yahoo!, Michaels pledged to stick around until the 2024-2025 season back in December. “I’d like to see that through, and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave,” Lorne said. “But here’s the point: I won’t want the show ever to be bad. I care too deeply about it. It’s been my life’s work.”
Thompson noted that the show could be vulnerable to network belt-tightening if Michaels departs, because “he’s such a legend that he keeps off those, like, corporate wolves… It’s business.”
“He’s the one that’s had his touch on the whole thing, so if somebody tries to come into his shoes, you know, it’s a good opportunity for NBC to save money as well,” Thompson said. “So maybe they might slash the budget, and then at that point, you can’t really do the same kind of show.”
The show could go on without Michaels, he said, but “they spend a lot of money on that show every week. It’s an expensive show, but it’s a one-of-a-kind thing.'”
As we earlier reported, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney all left the show on the May 21 season finale.
