Time is relentless. You may wish it would slow down and let you catch your breath once in a while, but it insists on marching ever forward, whether you like it or not.
But while there’s nothing we can do to stop Father Time’s onward progress, humans are capable of stealing a moment and reflecting on how we got here, looking back in order to better understand the now.
DON't MISS: Warner Bros CEO Blasted for Egregious $250 Million Salary During Writer Strike
It seemed like just yesterday NBC (CMCSA) aired a big tribute to “Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary. Well, it was actually 2015 when it happened. And time being what it is, NBC is now reportedly gearing up for the 50th anniversary in 2025.
NBC is, according to Variety, planning to talk to advertisers about the possibilities in the industry’s annual “upfront” sales session, which will take place this month. NBC might also begin hyping the upcoming 50th season, which will be begin next year during the 2024-2025 run, during the 2024 Summer Olympics. For the past several years, the biggest advertising spenders on “Saturday Night Live” have been Apple and T-Mobile, whose current campaign features SNL alb\ums Cecily Strong and Seth Meyers.
“Saturday Night Live,” like many other late night shows, is currently on pause during the writer’s strike. It’s unclear at the moment if the Writer’s Guild of America will be able to reach an agreement by the 2024 season. The show generated $74,7 million dollars in ad sales in 2022, according to Vivvix, a tracker of ad spending, which is about a 12% dip from the nearly $85.3 million “SNL” generated in 2021, likely a sign of the continuing migration away from broadcast television.
NBC
How Long Will Lorne Michaels Reign?
It’s been speculated that Lorne Michael, the show’s creator and longtime executive producer, might retire after the 50ths anniversary. He also currently oversees “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” But in interviews, Michaels has given conflicted indications about his plans.
“I think I’m committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” Michaels told CBS News in 2021. “I’d like to see that through, and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave. 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. So, I’m gonna do everything I can to see it carry on and carry on well.”
But a few months later, he told The New York Times “I have no plans to retire.”
In other “Saturday Night Live” news, writer-director Jason Reitnman, best known for “Juno” and “Up in the Air,” is reportedly prepping a movie about the origins of “Saturday Night Live.” Co-written by Gil Kenan, the currently untitled film will be set on the day of the first SNL episode, and the screenplay will be based on extensive interviews with the show’s living cast, writers, and crew.
The film will come from Sony, reportedly, and not from NBC Universal.
