The Real Star of ‘SNL50’ May Be John Lutz and His Goofy Selfies

You might remember John Lutz as Lutz, the lazy, overweight writer on 30 Rock. In real life, he’s a presumably productive comedy writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers. And before that, Lutz spent seven seasons scripting sketches for Saturday Night Live.

Lutz has the receipts to prove he did his time on SNL. On his Instagram account, Lutz is celebrating the show’s 50th year by “posting pics of some of the amazing people I got to work with when I wrote there. The bond you make with the writers and performers at @nbcsnl is unbreakable. I was also so lucky with the cast during my time (2004-2010).”

In a recent Cracked story about Bill Murray requesting a shot at hosting this year, I wondered why the show hasn’t leaned more into its nostalgic history during Season 50 (outside of Dana Carvey’s dozen cameos). Lutz’s memories cemented the nagging notion that something has been missing from SNL this year. Take a page from your former writer, Lorne Michaels — fans love this stuff. Don’t leave it to the well-crafted Saturday Night Live documentaries on Peacock to do all the heavy lifting. You’ve got 90 minutes to fill each week, after all.

So why not bring in former writers like Lutz to share candid photos and old memories of the time they hung out with Betty White? Or how about favorite cast members like Rachel Dratch, who has been taking her own social-media stroll down memory lane? I’d love to hear about her early days with an impossibly young Will Forte.

Or tales of coming up with an embryonic Tina Fey at Second City.

Nostalgia can be treacly business. Sitcom clip shows are notorious for their laziness, stitching together best-of bits mainly because the writers couldn’t get their shit together to write a new classic episode.

But if any show has earned the right to pull out the old photo albums and wax nostalgic, it’s Saturday Night Live, a show that’s endured several death prognoses over the course of its 50 seasons. You only get one chance at a victory lap, Lorne — as soon as Season 51, we’ll be well sick of the reminiscing. 

For now, though, take a cue from Lutz and celebrate the past. It certainly would be more fun than another Domingo sketch.