#FIRSTLOOK: LORNE MICHAELS DOCUMENTARY “LORNE”

The documentary from Academy Award–winning filmmaker Morgan Neville will be released in theatres on April 17, 2026

Focus Features will release LORNE, the first-ever, behind-the-scenes look into the life of Lorne Michaels, the legendary creator and reluctant icon behind Saturday Night Live. While SNL is one of the most examined and celebrated shows in television history, the man who built and sustained the institution for nearly five decades has largely remained out of view. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, LORNE reframes a cultural story audiences think they know, offering unprecedented access to the quiet force who shaped American comedy. The film will be released in theatres in the U.S. on April 17, 2026. Focus has worldwide rights on the film and Universal Pictures International will handle international distribution for the studio.

Logline: From Morgan Neville, Academy Award-winning filmmaker of 20 FEET FROM STARDOM and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR, comes LORNE, an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the man who built the inimitable empire of comedy, shaping television and culture for generations. The documentary features exclusive footage, archival treasures, and candid interviews with the show’s most iconic cast members and writers including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock and many more.

Director: Morgan Neville
Producers: Morgan Neville, p.g.a., via A Tremolo Production; Lauren Belfer, p.g.a.

LORNE reunites Focus and Neville for a fourth time having previously partnered on, PIECE BY PIECE, ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? which earned a number of awards including Best Documentary at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards.

Morgan Neville is an Oscar®, Grammy® and Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker known for his work as a cultural documentarian. His acclaimed 2018 film Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing documentaries of all time. His 2013 film 20 Feet From Stardom won the Academy Award® for Best Documentary. His 2021 film Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain was the highest-grossing documentary of that year. Additional films and series include the Emmy-winning Best of Enemies, the Emmy-nominated STEVE! (Martin) a Documentary in 2 Pieces, Piece by Piece, Shangri-la, Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson, Song Exploder and Ugly Delicious. Neville recently was nominated for an Emmy® for his work on the documentary series, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. Most recently, he directed Man on the Run, which documents Paul McCartney’s decade-long creative surge after the Beatles, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and will be released by Amazon MGM February 25.
LORNE builds upon Focus’ slate of critically acclaimed documentaries including POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD from legendary filmmaker Wim Wenders; THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE from Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen; THE GROUND TRUTH from Patricia Foulkro; BABIES from acclaimed filmmaker, Thomas Balmès; and Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz’s UNDER THE ELECTRIC SKY. Focus also recently announced THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST from the Academy Award–winning filmmakers behind NAVALNY and EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE set to release in U.S. on March 27, 2026.

(Photo credit: NBC)