Bill Murray DefendsSNLamid Critiques of 'Lousy' Cast, Says He's Eyeing a Hosting Slot During the 50th Season

Mar. 15, 2025

Bill Murray.Photo:Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Bill Murraywill always be a fan ofSaturday Night Live.During an appearance onJasonandTravis Kelce’sNew Heightspodcast,Murray, 64, reminisced on his experiences on the famous sketch comedy show. Addressing criticism that it isn’t as funny as it used to be, the actor said he disagrees.“They’re actually doing really great [sketches] now,” he said. “People always give me a hard time about, ‘Oh, god. The original show was so great, and it’s lousy now.’ I’m like, ‘No it’s not.’ The show that’s on now, they do stuff that’s just as good as anybody ever did, all the time.”“And the damn producer has gotten so good,” he added about creatorLorne Michaels. “He’s gotten so damn good at it. He’s just ruthless.”TheGhostbustersstar said the show’s success was largely due to Michaels’ push for getting “the best in the business” to help bring it together.“This is old news, but when Lorne got that show together, he demanded from NBC that they give him the best sound man, the best sound mixer, the best technical director, the best lighting guy, the best prop man,” he said.Murray, who was a cast member onSNLfrom 1977 to 1980, also opened up about the role cast members play in the final version of each skit, crediting the “improvisational players” for their skills.“The ones that could do that just seemed to be able to work together better, especially because you’d write the show on a weekly basis — you only had a couple days to write it,” he said. “So those actors that had that kind of training could solve the puzzle of the sketch on the air almost. You could go like, ‘Hey, wait, what if…’ and you just sort of go there in the last hour or 2 just to make it right.”“You could rewrite just because you were aware,” he continued.(l-r) Charles Rocket, Gail Matthius, Denny Dillon, Ann Risley, Bill Murray, Gilbert Gottfried, Joe Piscopo, Eddie Murphy during the ‘Closing’ on March 7, 1981.NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.As for his future on the NBC series, Murray revealed he would “certainly” return to host for a sixth time during the 50th season — much to the excitement of Travis,who hostedSNLin March 2023.“I told them I’d like to host one this year,” he shared. “I’d like to try it one more time because that might be the last time to try it.”“When I go back, the guys down at the desk say, ‘Do you have a photo ID, sir?’” he joked. “And I gotta go, ‘Would you mind dialing this number and seeing if someone would come down and get me?’ We used to breeze through that place. We owned that building once upon a time and I can’t get through security!”Saturday Night Liveairs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Bill Murraywill always be a fan ofSaturday Night Live.

During an appearance onJasonandTravis Kelce’sNew Heightspodcast,Murray, 64, reminisced on his experiences on the famous sketch comedy show. Addressing criticism that it isn’t as funny as it used to be, the actor said he disagrees.

“They’re actually doing really great [sketches] now,” he said. “People always give me a hard time about, ‘Oh, god. The original show was so great, and it’s lousy now.’ I’m like, ‘No it’s not.’ The show that’s on now, they do stuff that’s just as good as anybody ever did, all the time.”

“And the damn producer has gotten so good,” he added about creatorLorne Michaels. “He’s gotten so damn good at it. He’s just ruthless.”

TheGhostbustersstar said the show’s success was largely due to Michaels’ push for getting “the best in the business” to help bring it together.

“This is old news, but when Lorne got that show together, he demanded from NBC that they give him the best sound man, the best sound mixer, the best technical director, the best lighting guy, the best prop man,” he said.

Murray, who was a cast member onSNLfrom 1977 to 1980, also opened up about the role cast members play in the final version of each skit, crediting the “improvisational players” for their skills.

“The ones that could do that just seemed to be able to work together better, especially because you’d write the show on a weekly basis — you only had a couple days to write it,” he said. “So those actors that had that kind of training could solve the puzzle of the sketch on the air almost. You could go like, ‘Hey, wait, what if…’ and you just sort of go there in the last hour or 2 just to make it right.”

“You could rewrite just because you were aware,” he continued.

(l-r) Charles Rocket, Gail Matthius, Denny Dillon, Ann Risley, Bill Murray, Gilbert Gottfried, Joe Piscopo, Eddie Murphy during the ‘Closing’ on March 7, 1981.NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As for his future on the NBC series, Murray revealed he would “certainly” return to host for a sixth time during the 50th season — much to the excitement of Travis,who hostedSNLin March 2023.

“I told them I’d like to host one this year,” he shared. “I’d like to try it one more time because that might be the last time to try it.”

“When I go back, the guys down at the desk say, ‘Do you have a photo ID, sir?’” he joked. “And I gotta go, ‘Would you mind dialing this number and seeing if someone would come down and get me?’ We used to breeze through that place. We owned that building once upon a time and I can’t get through security!”

Saturday Night Liveairs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com