LAWRENCE, Kansas – Saturday Night Live may have suffered one of the biggest losses in the show’s 32-year history. The show returned last weekend without director Beth McCarthy Miller calling the shots, for the first time in 11 years. Reports from USA Today and Variety have been unclear about who made the decision to end McCarthy Miller’s reign as director, and it’s even more baffling how Don Roy King was chosen as her replacement.

McCarthy Miller came to SNL after rising to the rank of senior director at MTV before leaving to direct The Jon Stewart Show, whose short lifespan perfectly coincided with the late Dave Wilson‘s retirement from SNL. Wilson’s departure, however, appeared to have been far more premeditated as a live shot in the control room showed him salute at the close of the 1994-95 season finale. McCarthy Miller had no such curtain call.

King’s background is primarily in morning news shows, including a six-year stint at ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’ The Early Show, and while he has directed staged musical productions for video as well as The Mike Douglas Show, his credentials do not point to someone fit to direct a music/variety show like SNL. Even so, while his abilities may suffice for the comedy sketches, he leaves much to be desired for the show’s live music performances. Audiences have been spoiled by Beth McCarthy Miller’s flair for directing music, and her contributions will be sorely missed.

King kicked off his tenure doing far inferior work while directing two performances by The Killers. His camera placement, shot selection and pacing lacked energy and did little to add to the performances. The talented SNL camera operators have been relegated to less imaginative work, which could prove detrimental to the already struggling show. According to reports, Saturday Night Live‘s ratings last season were the lowest ever, an average audience of 6.5 million viewers, which was a 6% decline from the previous year. The show’s creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels will have his work cut out for him, especially without an ace director.

Filed under: Late Night TV, Music/Variety, Opinion/Editorial, Television