So is there a future for long-form SNL content? It’s not entirely out of the question. Remember, while Saturday Night Live doesn’t make hit movies, it does make movie stars. The combined box officer careers of Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley are measured in the tens of billions, with a B. While the show may not be capable of turning its sketches into cinematic hits, appearing as a cast member is the surest comedy launching pad outside of being a close personal friend of Judd Apatow.
Warner Bros. Pictures
You won’t find many of today’s SNL stars at the multiplex, but the evolving economics of the movie business, combined with a global pandemic, have made big-screen comedies of all stripes a vanishing species. Saturday Night Live is still establishing comedy stars, but now they’re finding the spotlight on premium streaming services.
Think of those Emmy wins for Bill Hader’s Barry or Jason Sudeikis’s Golden Globe trophy for Ted Lasso. Cecily Strong’s Schmigadoon sings on Apple TV, while on Hulu, Aidy Bryant’s Shrill shines, and Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs racked up multiple Golden Globe nominations.
So if SNL-style comedy and its associated stars are thriving on premium streaming, here’s a proposal: Why not use Saturday Night Live content to boost NBC’s flailing Peacock app? After all, leveraging existing TV gold — primarily, sports and reruns of The Office — has been NBC’s main strategy so far to drive subscriptions.
Would fans pony up for a monthly Peacock fee for a chance to see a Stefon movie? The idea has actually been kicked around.
NBC
“Bill Hader and I once had a discussion about making a feature film,” John Mulaney told Seth Meyers on his podcast. “The one thing we were sure about was that the film would be kind of like 24 Hour Party People, so like a narrative documentary where he is the correspondent on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, and the thing we were sure about was that Lorne would be played by [the late] Gary Marshall. And I think that was non-negotiable. He would say, ‘I’m Lorne F**king Michaels, and I run this town.”
Meyers, for his part, is in. “I wanted in the first scene to agree to go out with Stefon, and then a super-fast cut of us at all the clubs, and then I was then zipped into a body bag,” says Meyers. “So that would be the opening, and I would be zipped into a body bag, then it would pan up to Stefon saying, ‘He’s dead.’”
Okay, we’re in as well.
The streaming idea makes sense — if the movies are good. As the 1990s taught us, that’s a big if. But how about a 90-minute comedy starring Kate McKinnon’s Colleen Raftery, the lady whose alien abductions and near-death experiences are always less blissed-out than her neighbors’? Or blow out Big Nick’s, those John Mulaney sketches where a Pete Davidson request to buy something stupid turns into an overblown musical. Throw in Kenan to guarantee laughs.
In theory, good movies would drive more people to watch SNL, while more SNL viewers would drive Peacock subscriptions to watch SNL movies.
Here’s your second chance, Lorne.
Top Image: Paramount Pictures
For more ComedyNerd, be sure to check out:
How Eddie Murphy Saved SNL From Extinction
In Defense Of ‘Scott’s Tots’: Why ‘The Office’s Most Excruciating Episode Is Also Its Most Necessary
How Joe Rogan Went From Fairly Unknown Comic To Podcasting’s Demi-God
The 8 Kinds of Comedian You Have On Every S.N.L. Cast
Related: Early SNL Was As ‘Cokey’ As We Thought
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