Lorne Michaels on Rumors Kate McKinnon Is Leaving 'Saturday Night Live' (Exclusive)
Could there be changes on the horizon for Saturday Night Live, after racking up 21 Emmy nominations this year?
ET's Nancy O'Dell spoke with the show's creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels, on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Monday, where he revealed they're auditioning new cast members.
"We were in Chicago, we were in a bunch of other places. We were holding final [auditions] two nights ago," Michaels said, adding that they would be making decisions "soon" after finding "a couple people."
The show may need those people if rumors of breakout star and Emmy nominee Kate McKinnon leaving are true.
"This is her last year on her contract," Michaels revealed. But he's in no hurry to push his star out the door. "She could stay, she'd get a lifetime contract."
For now, McKinnon will be around when SNL's 44th season kicks off on Sept 29, with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West.
"I'm past being nervous about that," Michaels said of West's notoriously unpredictable behavior. "He's been on the show maybe four or five times, and he's always been great. And he's always inventive, and he takes it seriously. He's a genius."
SNL star Leslie Jones also seemed to be bracing herself for some Kanye antics. When asked how she thought he might be on the show, she simply replied, "I don't know."
Michaels also shrugged off the sudden surge of SNL couples, from Emmys host Colin Jost dating Scarlett Johansson, to Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande's whirlwind romance. Is there something in the water?
"No, it's just normal NBC water, which is not bottled," he joked.
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