SNL REUNION: THE JOKE’S ON THEM!

SATURDAY Night Live’s original Not Ready for PrimeTime Players may be ready for a comeback!

As longtime producer Lorne Michaels contemplates retirement, sources say he wants to bring back the surviving members of the 1975-76 cast for the skit show’s final season.

“Lorne is 77 and says he doesn’t want to keep at it after he turns 80, so there’s a lot of speculation he will shut down the show when he retires,” reveals an insider.

“But he wants to go out with a big last laugh, and people are whispering that he wants to bring back the original cast that first put the show on the map.”

The idea may not be as farfetched as it sounds. “Several of the original cast members could definitely use a career boost,” notes the insider. “Chevy Chase is a pariah in Hollywood, and Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Garrett Morris aren’t exactly household names anymore.”

Dan Aykroyd was also a member of the debut cast along with the late John Belushi and Gilda Radner.

“It may just be for the final episode,” says the source, “but Lorne’s dream would be to have them as the primary cast for the entire season!”

The cast from the early years included (clockwise from left) John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner

Lorne Michaels wants the old stars back for one last hurrah, say show insiders