Lorne Michaels hints he'll retire from 'SNL' after 50th season

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Frank Ockenfels/NBC

Saturday Night Live‘s executive producer and co-creator, Lorne Michaels, is thinking about retirement.

The 77-year-old told CBS Mornings Monday that he’s contemplating leaving the show after its 50th season, which would debut in 2024 and conclude in 2025.

“You know, I think I’m committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” he said. “I’d like to see that through and I have a feeling that’d be a really good time to leave.”

He added, “But … I won’t want the show ever to be bad. I care too deeply about it. It’s been my life’s work. So I’m going to do everything I can to see it carry on.”

Michaels launched the show in 1975 and only stepped away from it for five years in the early ’80s. He hinted that there are already plans in the works for who would replace him after retirement, but didn’t go into details.

“I have a sense of where we’re headed with that, you know,” he said, adding, “I’m not going to go on about it — it’s three years away.”

SNL is currently in its 47th season.

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