Long Live The King

A while back I posted about what a great job Ryan Murphy has--he not only runs Glee, he also gets to foist his musical taste on the public.  But there's another TV showrunner who has an even better job: Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night  Live.

The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting profile.  He's essentially the king of comedy, and has been for over thirty years.  I think he deserves his success--he had the the vision, drive and talent, not to mention the political savvy, to get the show on air and make it what it is when few others saw what it could be--but for the last few decades, his position has been unassailable. Not that he doesn't ever have to fight with NBC. It's just that the network won't cancel a success like SNL, and it's almost unimaginable it would be run by anyone else as long as Michaels is around. (Jean Doumanian and then Dick Ebersol did take it over for a while, after Lorne left for what he thought were greener pastures.  These were not great years for the show, though the discovery of Eddie Murphy helped keep things going.)

SNL debuted in 1975.  It was revolutionary for its day, offering glimpses of a more radical type of comedy than you'd see on prime time variety.  It's long since become an institution, and though there's the occasional controversy to keep things lively, it pretty much is something viewers can rely on.  And atop the empire sits Lorne Michaels.  Everyone and everything on the show is in his purview.  All the writers, the actors, everyone seek his approval.  The show itself attracts top-notch guest hosts who rarely appear on TV, but to those on the show, Michaels is more important.

Because SNL is the place where talent is discovered, and where stars are made.  Everyone wants to be there, and thus need to please Lorne.  When you think about it, there's been no greater influence on comedy in the last two generations.  It's hard to name a major comedy star in movies who hasn't worked on Michaels' show one way or another.  I don't know if this means he's got a great eye for talent, or simply has all the talent come to him.

But that's the part of his job that sounds like so much fun.  He's the king, so everyone comes to him.  A nod and a sketch is in the show.  A shake of the head and a career can be over.  I'm sure he works very hard, but few creative people have ever been in such a position of power.

Someday he'll leave his spot, and I expect he'll be replaced.  But I can't help but think it's such a lovely place to be that he won't go voluntarily.  Like any king, he'll have to die before he's replaced.