R | 1h 41m | Documentary, Biography | 2026
If success is based solely on longevity and excluding news and sports programming, “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) is the most successful, continuous show in American television history.
Currently in its 51st season, “SNL” is produced and overseen by Lorne Michaels, a man who has steadfastly avoids drawing attention to himself.
Now 81, Michaels (born Lorne Lipowitz) has finally agreed to participate (albeit slightly kicking and screaming) in a documentary about his life and career.
Boring? Not Totally
Mere minutes into “Lorne,” one of the dozens of interviewed Michael collaborators tells interviewer and director Morgan Neville that this will be the most boring documentary he’ll ever make. This isn’t entirely full-blown hyperbole, but it’s close.
A third of “Lorne” is indeed boring. If it’s not information even the most casual “SNL” fan already knows, it’s minutiae that tells us nothing substantial about the man. Did you know he consumes vast quantities of popcorn and Tootsie Rolls? Do you care? I’ll bet Michael’s cardiologist cares.
Michael is a creature of habit and sticks to routine. He dines at the same three New York restaurants every week, usually ordering the name dish at each one. He’s perpetually late. He goes to bed around 4 a.m. and wakes at noon. His work day doesn’t start until 4 p.m. It’s not groundbreaking stuff, but it’s still mildly interesting in an obsessive-compulsive sort of way.
No Family Included
Neville (almost certainly at Michaels’s instruction) reveals Michaels has three children whose names and faces are never revealed. The same goes for his current third wife. He guards his personal life like a hawk.
Apart from “SNL,” Michaels has produced some feature films based on characters in “SNL” skits and almost all of them tanked at the box office. The lone exception was the first “Wayne’s World,” which is addressed. Another film (not based on a “SNL” skit), “Three Amigos” starring “SNL” alums Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short is also discussed. The posters for these two movies are the only ones that adorn Michaels’s 30 Rock office.
Ignored Failures
There is no mention of “It’s Pat,” “A Night at the Roxbury,” “Coneheads,” or “The Blues Brothers,” an “SNL” skit-based movie that was a huge success, but not produced by Michaels. This is further indication that Michaels (likely) had tight control on the content of “Lorne” and (again likely) allowed Neville to include only what made Michaels appear infallible.
The single example of portraying Michaels as someone who could possibly make a wrong decision took place in 1980, when he temporarily resigned as producer of “SNL,” but even this comes with a questionable caveat.
The fourth season of “SNL” had ended and the three principal cast members (Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd) had left the show. As presented in this movie, Michaels also left. He cited “burnout,” which could be the case, but probably not.
Down in Flames
With his three biggest stars gone, Michaels could have believed finding replacements was futile. Please note: This is only my opinion, but considering what happened over the next five seasons lends this theory a high level of credence. “SNL” proceeded to go down in flames until Michaels returned as producer for the 1985 season.
Before the start of the 1981 season, the remaining four members of the original cast (Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, and Garrett Morris) were fired or quit. What followed was five years of really bad TV. This eventually proved that Michaels was the best, if not the only, guy qualified to resurrect the show.
It takes close to an hour, but Neville finally hits his stride by showing and telling the audience something they don’t already know.
The third act guides us through a typical week of preparing for the next show. On Tuesday, the host (in this case, former cast member Kate McKinnon), Michaels, and the bevy of writers have an informal meeting where possible skits are pitched. Before dawn on Wednesday, Michaels goes over a pile of easily 50 proposed pieces. He tosses over half away.
Thursday sees the building of sets and first run-throughs of the material. Friday is the day rehearsals begin and the sequencing of the skits is set in motion. Not one, but two, audiences attend full rehearsals on Saturday afternoon. How Michaels has done this for 45 years boggles the mind.
“Lorne” is ultimately recommendable because of all Michaels has achieved in the last 40-plus years. He rescued a live show that was all but dead in the water and brought it back, not only to life, but continually thriving, quality notwithstanding.
The film is now playing in theaters.
‘Lorne’
Documentary
Director: Morgan Neville
Running Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: April 17, 2026
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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