5 Reasons Why Tina Fey Should Take Over ‘Saturday Night Live’

When it comes to succession, Logan Roy had a problem. Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels won’t. He’s got Tina Fey.

​His historic live comedy-variety show will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a special in February 2025, and founding producer Michaels, 79, has hinted that he might retire after that golden season. When pressed by Entertainment Tonight on the Emmys red carpet about a successor, Michaels admitted that former SNL star and writer Tina Fey, 53, was a top contender.

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​“It could easily be Tina Fey,” he told ET. “Tina’s brilliant and great at everything. She’s a very important person in my life.” But Michaels hedged that there are other talented successors standing in the wings.

​None as qualified as Fey. Here are the top five reasons why Tina Fey should take over SNL in 2025.

​1. She gets the SNL culture on both sides of the camera.

​Fey was part of the show for nearly a decade, from 1997 to 2006. She began as a writer, and by 1999, she was the show’s first female head writer. One of Fey’s best-known writing credits is 2003’s unforgettable “Mom Jeans” J.C. Penney fake ad, which she says was inspired by grabbing a pair of jeans at J.Crew downstairs at Rockefeller Center and thinking something comic had to come out of how “unfortunate” they looked. Beginning in 2000, she took over the “Weekend Update” desk with Jimmy Fallon for four years, then welcomed castmate and longtime pal Amy Poehler, 52, for two hilarious years as the first all-female pairing in the show’s centerpiece sketch. Fey understands the spotlight and pressure of big bits — think of her Sarah Palin impression as evidence of her ability to take a bit of original, timely comic gold and mine it for all its worth. From the writers’ room to in front of the camera, Fey gets SNL like few others.

​2. She’s already been a showrunner — and a very successful one.

​Dovetailing with leaving SNL in 2006, Fey made her own comic gold for NBC in the critically acclaimed 30 Rock, the satirically biting sitcom based on her experiences at SNL. Fey was not only the star and writer but the showrunner as well. 30 Rock ran for seven seasons, racking up back-to-back-to-back Emmys for outstanding comedy series in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The woman knows how to put together a show and make it best in class. (See for yourself, now that all seven seasons are streaming on Peacock.)