‘SNL’: Producer & Talent Chief Lindsay Shookus Exits After 20 Years
19.08.2022 - 20:27
/ deadline.com
Lindsay Shookus, a producer on Saturday Night Live and head of its talent department, is leaving after 20 years.
Deadline understands that Shookus decided to leave the show ahead of this season given that it is essentially a rebuilding year with a number of key cast members such as Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon leaving. She was offered a promotion but decided it was the right time to exit.
She has been with the venerable NBC late-night series for 20 years and 10 years as a producer. In that time, she has won six Emmys including an award for its 40th Anniversary special, which she played a pivotal role in.
Shookus started as assistant to Marci Klein, a producer and head of the talent department, in 2002 after graduating from college. She became an associate producer in 2008, a co-producer in 2010 and a producer in 2012. She is the head of the show’s talent department, responsible for booking hosts and musical guests as well as scouting new cast members.
Shookus was also responsible for creating a Diversity Scholarship at SNL in 2020, with the help of NBCUniversal, to put over 80 students through comedy programs such as Second City, Groundlings, The PIT and UCB. She will remain as an advisor the program. She also co-founded the Women Work F#cking Hard organization.
She also exec-produced Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which starred Miley Cyrus and Peter Davidson in 2021.
Next up, she is developing a series adaptation of David Goodwillie’s book Kings County with Jessie Creel, that Allison Silverman is writing.
She said that after 20 seasons and 415 live shows, she has decided to trade in the “wild late-night life” and move on, now able to eat brunch at weekends. She also talked about meeting the father of her daughter Maddie,