Saturday Night Live
Will Ferrell & Paul McCartney
May 16, 2026
Speculating about when Lorne Michaels will retire has become something of a national pastime. After all, Michaels is 81 years old, and has helmed Saturday Night Live for nearly all 51 of its years on air. So when it was announced that Will Ferrell, one of SNL‘s greatest performers, was hosting the final episode of this season with living legend Paul McCartney as musical guest, the speculation began a’speculating.
Having seen last night’s episode, count me amongst those who are skeptical of the retirement theory. Sure, Paul McCartney came out for an encore at the end of the episode, and performed “Coming Up,” which happened to be the very first song he ever performed on SNL, which was the fifth season finale, and Lorne Michaels’ last episode before he went on a five-year hiatus from the show. And there’s a lot to be read into that, I suppose.
But if I were Lorne, I’d be a little disappointed if last night’s was my final episode. It wasn’t terrible by any stretch, but considering how great Will Ferrell is and can be, and considering how strong the writing has been in the second half of this season, hopes were raised, and the episode just didn’t quite live up to them. Furthermore, while there is a universe in which Lorne does not announce his retirement and just quietly steps away because he doesn’t want all the fuss, I have a very hard time imagining that NBC wouldn’t want to celebrate his tenure in some way, much less not milk every last bit of a final season or even just a few final episodes. I think Lorne will be with the show for a bit longer, and when he finally does take his leave, there will be more former cast members than just Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon to see him out.
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