Ahead of its 50th season, the show's creator and longtime producer teases upcoming election coverage and a new generation taking the reins of the show.

Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC and, while it was a gamble, it proved to be a hit for the network. Now five decades later, the show is still going strong, with Lorne Michaels at the helm. As the legendary producer turns 80,

Lorne Michaels has no regrets about hiring controversial comedian Shane Gillis — or bringing him back to host Saturday Night Live after he was fired for resurfaced racist and homophobic jokes. "We had a bad time when I added Shane Gillis to the cast [in 2019],

"When he came back to the show last year [to host], we saw, 'Oh right, he’s really talented, and he would’ve been really good for us.'"

Asked if he’s more concerned about being politically correct now than when the show started in 1975, Michaels reflected on The Shane Gillis Incident as an example. “We had a bad time when I added Shane Gillis to the cast [in 2019].

Just because your work doesn’t immediately connect with people, that doesn’t mean you should give up. That’s the advice Kristen Wiig, Bowen Yang and Maya Rudolph gave to Lorne Michaels, the celebrated head of “Saturday Night Live” and their former boss, who is about to celebrate his 50th season of the NBC staple.

Lorne Michaels revealed which legendary Hollywood star he wanted to host Saturday Night Live but never came to fruition. But could it still happen?

Gillis was hired as a featured player in 2019 and fired days later after videos resurfaced of him making racial slurs on his podcast