Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: nbc, peacock, saturday night live, snl, steve martin, tim walz

SNL Season 50 Debuts Sept. 28th; Steve Martin Passes on Gov. Tim Walz

Steve Martin explains why he passed on playing Gov. Tim Walz on NBC's Saturday Night Live, with SNL Season 50 set to start on September 28th.

Well, it was nice while it lasted. When Vice-President and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris announced that she had picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate to take on Donald Trump and J.D. Vance during this fall's POTUS election, a lot of folks hit social media to let NBC's Saturday Night Live EP Lorne Michaels and SNL's writers know that they thought Steve Martin (Onlu Murders in the Building) would be a no-brainer as Gov. Walz, standing beside SNL icon and comedy goddess Maya Rudolph's VP Harris for Season 50 (through the final run of the 2024 Presidential campaign). Martin even referenced the rumblings with a post on Threads, having a little fun. Unfortunately, it looks like that's where the dream ends, with Martin sharing with The Los Angeles Times that he's taking a pass.

For what it's worth, Michaels must've heard the outcry because he reached out to Martin earlier today. "I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no. I said, 'Lorne, I'm not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.' I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses," Martin shared. "It's ongoing. It's not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again. Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They're gonna find somebody really, really good. I'd be struggling," he added. It appears the search is still on, with SNL's 50th season set to kick off on September 28th.

SNL Season 50 & EP Lorne Michaels

Back in May, the word went out regarding early plans to celebrate the milestone 50th season of Saturday Night Live. The network confirmed that there will be a "celebratory weekend" that wraps up on Sunday, February 16th (from 8-11 p.m. ET), with a live, primetime special. Now, thanks to an interview he had with The New York Times at the end of the most recent season, we're learning some additional details on what's ahead – as well as EP Lorne Michaels's thoughts on those rumblings about his retiring after Season 50.

Along with the primetime special on February 16th, music producer Mark Ronson and Michaels will produce a "homecoming" of sorts at Radio City Music Hall on the Friday of that weekend. In addition, it was noted that musician and producer Questlove (The Roots) is co-producing a documentary for the anniversary season spotlighting the impact that SNL had had on music and culture, and Morgan Neville (Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces, Won't You Be My Neighbor) is producing five documentaries focusing on both Michaels and the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series. As for those rumblings that the 50th anniversary will also be his last hurrah, Michaels is basing that decision on how he's feeling and not committing to anything. "I'm going to do it as long as I feel I can do it," he shared. "But I rely on other people and always have."

NBC's Saturday Night Live Season 49 company includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Troast, Devon Walker, and Bowen Yang. SNL is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, with Liz Patrick directing and SNL alum Darrell Hammond announcing. Broadcasting from Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series is produced by SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video.

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