Bill Murray Defends ‘Saturday Night Live’ And Says He’d “Certainly” Like To Host Again

As Saturday Night Live marks its 50th season, Bill Murray hopes to have a homecoming soon.

The Oscar nominee said he’d “certainly” like to return as a host for its current milestone season, defending the NBC sketch comedy show’s current creative team against criticism.

“People always give me a hard time about, ‘Oh, the original show was so great and it’s lousy now,’” Murray said on the New Heights podcast. “And I say, ‘No, it’s not.’ The show that’s on now, they do stuff that’s just as good as anybody ever did, all the time.”

Before his beloved roles in Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984), Murray was a writer and cast member on SNL from 1977 to 1980. He was known for such characters as Dick Lanky, Francis Jocko Leary Jr. and Honker. The actor has since hosted the show five times.

“I told ’em I’d like to host one this year,” said Murray. “So, maybe if I get organized. I think I did it two other times when I was there. I’d like to try it one more time. It might be the last time to try it.”

Murray’s comments come after SNL announced former cast members Chris Rock and Martin Short will return to host the Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 episodes, respectively, along with musical guests Gracie Abrams and Hozier.

Created by Lorne Michaels in 1975, SNL will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a primetime special Sunday, Feb. 16.