Saturday Night Live was nearly cancelled after its disastrous 1985-1986 Season 11, which Collider argues paradoxically saved the franchise. The docu-series SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night devoted an entire episode to the season, which was simultaneously groundbreaking and a ratings disaster. Executive producer Lorne Michaels reportedly used the near-death experience to figure out how the show did and did not work, setting the template for the next four decades. The piece comes as SNL just wrapped its milestone 51st season with hosts including Teyana Taylor, Ryan Gosling, Sabrina Carpenter, and Josh O'Connor, and as the newly launched SNL UK receives a mixed but renewed reception.
SNL almost got the axe after Season 11 in 1985-86, which was apparently both groundbreaking and a total disaster. Collider's piece argues that Lorne Michaels needed the show to nearly die to actually figure out how it works. The SNL50 docu-series gave the whole season its own episode. Meanwhile SNL just wrapped Season 51 with Teyana Taylor, Ryan Gosling, Sabrina Carpenter, and Josh O'Connor, and SNL UK got renewed despite mixed reviews.
Fills a coverage gap in the film_tv category (9 stories, on the lower end) with specific, checkable claims — exact season numbers, host names, and a traceable Collider source — though the core 'nearly cancelled' claim relies on a single source without independent corroboration.
SNL is one of the longest-running shows in television history, and the story of how it nearly died in the mid-1980s is a foundational piece of TV lore. The piece reframes the infamous Season 11 not as a cautionary tale but as the crucible that forged the modern show's formula. With the franchise now expanding internationally through SNL UK, understanding its near-death pivot point offers a lens on how creative risk-taking — even when it fails spectacularly — can become the foundation for decades of relevance.
51 seasons in and SNL is still expanding — the UK version just got renewed. But the show almost didn't make it past Season 11 in the '80s. The piece is a reminder that near-death experiences can be formative, especially for live TV that has to reinvent itself every week. Worth a read if you've ever wondered why Lorne Michaels has the job security he does.
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