Overview
- Michaels, speaking at a Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, said SNL U.K. should be its own show that is “cooler, smarter, [and] funnier” than the U.S. original.
- Focus Features releases Morgan Neville’s documentary Lorne in theaters on Friday, and in it Michaels tells Steve Martin he has no plans to retire.
- Neville, who spent about two years embedded with SNL, said replacing Michaels may take two or even three people because the job blends creative pull with the leverage to protect the show’s budget.
- Early reviews from outlets including TheWrap, the Boston Globe, and The Globe and Mail fault the film as superficial and short on new insight despite its insider access.
- SNL U.K., which premiered March 21 after an order expansion to eight episodes, has drawn mixed notices and a ratings slide from about 226,000 for the debut to roughly 130,000 by episode three, even as Michaels says the British team must make it their own.