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Fox and Andy Samberg are gearing up to launch their own Saturday night late-night variety program, but the former Saturday Night Live comedian told The Hollywood Reporter he has no desire to compete with his alma mater.
Party Over Here will tackle the world of politics and entertainment through various sketches and digital shorts in front of a live audience. Because of how similar the concept of the show is to SNL, the members of The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) wanted to make sure they got the blessing from their former boss and SNL creator, Lorne Michaels.
"We wanted to do something new and exciting and fun but we didn't want to have any direct conflict," Samberg told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're not, like, raging war on SNL. That's still our home and family."
It's something that Schaffer echoed, adding that they told Fox during negotiation deals that they weren't going to go up against the variety show giant and would only agree to the series if they ended by 11:30 p.m. ET. Taccone also mentioned that they called up Michaels multiple times to get his blessing before going ahead with the show, which he more than willingly gave them.
While the members of The Lonely Island will remain behind the scenes for the most part, they've brought on a fresh crop of comedians to carry the series.
Party Over Here premieres this Saturday, March 12, at 11 p.m. ET on Fox.
