Lorne Michaels Didn't Think 'SNL' Would Last, Original Cast Member Says

Original Saturday Night Live star Laraine Newman told People that creator Lorne Michaels didn't expect the show’s success. Initially, he believed it would only run for a few weeks, at the most.

"When Lorne pitched the show to me, he said, ‘It’s 13 weeks with a five-year option,’" Newman recalled. "I thought, like that will ever happen."

The birth of the legendary sketch show, which held its 50th season premiere on Saturday, is the subject of the new movie Saturday Night. Newman is played by Emily Fairn, while Gabriel LaBelle plays Michaels. Reflecting on the show now, Newman admits that no one thought it would make a significant cultural impression.

"No one could have imagined it would last this long,” she marveled. “Nothing lasts 50 years!"

Newman's assessment is more or less accurate. Saturday Night Live was originally conceived to replace Saturday reruns of The Tonight Show after Johnny Carson and NBC became embroiled in a dispute. Carson wanted the reruns to air during weeknights so that he could have more time off, and NBC wanted to show the talk show giant that he was replaceable.

Michaels was approached by the network's vice president of late-night programming, Dick Ebersol, to create a variety show for the coveted 18–34 demographic. Michaels and Ebersol developed the series over just three weeks, its cast assembled from a rag-tag group of local improvisers, playwrights, and actors. When it premiered the show was largely an experimental curiosity that no one, least of all NBC execs, expected to last more than a few months at most.

Newman joined SNL fresh out of The Groundlings. She was the youngest member of the show’s cast but quickly became one of the ensemble’s most treasured players with characters like Connie Conehead and Valley-Girl Sherry.

"It’s surreal. The Groundlings, like SNL, has shaped so much of modern comedy,” Newman said of the improv troupe, which includes fellow SNL alums Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Wiig. “I would have never imagined we’d be looking back at five decades of influence from both.”

Of her time on Saturday Night Live, Newman said, “It was such a unique experience, and I’m proud to be part of something that’s had such a lasting impact…I’ve always thought about how TV reflects the anxieties, beliefs, and values of culture. It also helps shape them. Presenting issues through storytelling can be really effective on a systemic level.”