‘Saturday Night Live’ creator: Romney won’t be on show this season

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels said presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will not be on the show this season, but left the door open to Romney making an appearance when it returns in the fall.

“We only have three shows left, and they’re pretty jam-packed,” Michaels told Deadline Hollywood. “It might be in the fall, but we’ll never know, that’ll all depend on his availability.”

Michaels extended an invitation to Romney earlier in the cycle and said the two parties had been in touch about a potential cameo, but that the “primaries overtook everything.”

Romney has said that he would be open to making an appearance.

“It would depend on the nature of the skit,” he has said. “I want it to be funny.”

The show frequently satirizes presidential elections, and can have a big impact by cementing pre-existing narratives about the nature of the election and the candidates themselves.

This year, Romney has been portrayed as a buttoned-up milquetoast politician by Jason Sudeikis.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and then-candidate Barack Obama both appeared on the show during the 2008 cycle, as did Sarah Palin, who was also famously portrayed by Tina Fey.

---