Lorne Michaels, 77, sees Pete Davidson‘s new reported relationship with Kim Kardashian, 41, as a great thing when it comes to publicity for Saturday Night Live. The producer of the long-running comedy sketch show is loving how much exposure the 28-year-old comedian is getting for his outings with the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star and feels his overall success is a true benefit.
“Lorne is adamant to have Pete and other cast members on forever if they choose to be. He initially wants to make it to the fiftieth season with everyone and amidst Pete’s current meteoric rise, he is giving him extraordinary freedom to do other things like movies and not requiring him to be in the offices at all times for SNL,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “Lorne and the other producers absolutely love the fact that Pete is on the news all the time, with Kim especially. It just continues getting eyeballs to the show from whatever happens with their relationship. They can’t get enough and are happy to allow Pete to basically come and go as he pleases if and when he has other commitments. If the show has their way, they would keep Pete forever.”
Despite the fact that Pete and Kim’s new apparent relationship started after she appeared as a guest host and even kissed him onscreen in a skit in Oct., Lorne currently has “no plans” to feature their connection on SNL but he’d love to have Kim back as a host in the far future. “There are no plans at this time to do anything about their relationship on the show,” the source explained. “And as far as Kim coming back to the show, she did an amazing job during her stint and people always come back but that will likely be down the road. Kim would love to come back, Pete would love her there, but it is so soon removed that Kim would like her show to live in people’s minds for a little bit before she decided to come back or not.”
“The way SNL works is always in the moment, so things can clearly change, but it would take quite a bit for Kim to come back to the show this season,” the source continued. “If the Weekend Update guys joke about something about them it will be because of something that has happened in that week. Time is on their side because the show isn’t going anywhere.”
The current cast members aren’t either. Our insider also said that Lorne is thrilled about the comedians working for him every week and would love to “keep them for a long time” if possible. “When it comes to the current crop of SNL cast members, Lorne wants to keep them all for a long time. In the past, the show was a launching pad into movie and television stardom whereas now that is still the case, but Lorne finds it beneficial for the show’s continued success to keep their stars as long as possible,” the insider said. “There is a certain cache to have the likes of Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson and Pete, to name a few, on the show, as they are great for the show and are walking and talking billboards for the show’s continued success while they obtain other successes in entertainment.”