A Complete List of Things I Learned about Lorne Michaels from the Documentary 'Lorne'

Here’s a complete list of things I learned about Lorne Michaels from the Lorne documentary that I did not already know:

— He has a wife and three kids.
— He lives in Maine during the off weeks.
— When he was a sketch performer before SNL, he often broke during sketches.
— He was driving with Paul Simon across the country on the road trip that preceded Graceland.
— His father had a heart attack and died shortly after a fight with a young Lorne Michaels.
— He throws ice into a bucket when he’s frustrated.
— He produced a short-lived (9 episodes) Friday night sketch show called The New Show during the five years in the early ’80s when he wasn’t producing SNL.
— He eats at the same three restaurants every show week.
— He cried at Chris Farley’s funeral.

And that’s probably about it. That is to say, Lorne is not exactly illuminating to anyone who has spent the last 50 years watching SNL, keeping up with the various documentaries, and reading everything written about the show and its cast members.

Lorne is basically a documentary about Lorne Michaels that’s mostly about how unknowable Lorne Michaels is. That doesn’t mean he’s mysterious, per se. It just means there’s a lot of interiority going on. He doesn’t care to explain his process because the process is not explainable: It is what it is. SNL has survived for 51 seasons not because of a magical formula that he executes 21 times a year. The man just has good instincts, knows when to change course, and he’s loyal and protective of his people.

That’s the secret recipe: Have high expectations. Reward those who meet them and withhold just enough affection that people will want to please you.

That’s not to say that Lorne isn’t entertaining. It’s like any SNL documentary: chock-full of former cast members waxing nostalgic, clips of classic sketches, a few funny anecdotes, and — as is so often the case in these sorts of things — Conan O’Brien stealing the show. Did I learn a lot of new information about Lorne Michaels? Not really (although, he has a wife? Really?!). But for SNL enthusiasts, it’s as close to essential viewing as anything out there, even if it does little to dispel the myths surrounding Michaels.

‘Lorne’ is currently streaming on Peacock.