As Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year, the discussion about the show’s legacy rarely focused on its comedy. Instead, the emphasis was placed on its lore and rituals as well as the Sphinx-like decision making of the show’s creator, showrunner, and executive producer, Lorne Michaels. Unlike that of any other TV program, SNL’s mystique—behind the hiring process, how to break out on-air, the clockwork nature of the production schedule—has become ingrained in the public imagination. So when the announcement of several cast departures and additions arrived ahead of Season 51, which premieres this Saturday, viewers tried to read the tea leaves. Their question: Had Michaels decided that now was the time to wipe the slate clean?
Such a move wouldn’t be unprecedented. In 1986, for Season 12, the showrunner retained only three members of the previous season’s group, including the Season 11 standout Jon Lovitz; he nixed all but five performers in fall 1995, following the notoriously stagnant Season 20.
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