I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but things aren’t exactly normal when it comes to TV shows. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are no live audiences, no one-on-one interviews, no raucous musical acts. COVID-19 has messed up everything.
That includes NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The iconic late night sketch show hasn’t put out a standard episode in months. They created their own at-home version of the show, gathering the cast via Zoom and editing together something that felt like a semi-normal show. But they haven’t been in studio for ages and they certainly haven’t had any audience members to laugh — or even chuckle — at their comedy.
That may change. Well, some of that may change. Variety reports that NBC and Lorne Michaels are planning to bring SNL back to their legendary Manhattan studios this fall, adding some semblance of normalcy to the proceedings. While that is a step in the right direction, don’t expect to buy tickets any time soon. NBC has no plans to bring back a live studio audience for Saturday Night Live. There is just no way that gathering that many people would be safe, even in a few months.
SNL returning to their usual stomping grounds would be a big move for late night TV. Jimmy Fallon has already returned to the studio; his parred down version of The Tonight Show features a new set, a socially-distanced The Roots, no audience and a crew that is adhering to strict safety protocols. You should expect that any Saturday Night Live return would look a lot like The Tonight Show: lots of distance, lots of changes and no laughter from the crowd (although some would argue you didn’t get a lot of laughter from the crowd before COVID-19…)
Saturday Night Live will be a strong cultural force in the months ahead because, in case you somehow forgot, we are just around the corner from the presidential election. Nothing makes SNL run on all cylinders more than an election and this year promises to create comedy gold for the show. It’s not that they couldn’t make funny episodes from home but being in the studio brings a certain gravity and professionalism that makes the show feel more real and cohesive. Even if they don’t have the audience, they can still create something that feels more like the SNL of yesteryear. Honestly, right now, some classic SNL sounds really comforting to me.