Chevy Chase was the first breakout star from Saturday Night Live. He was considered handsome and funny. Some in the halls of NBC’s executive offices felt he would be the successor to Johnny Carson.
While Chase did go on to have a successful movie career following his departure from SNL in Season 2, his legacy is complicated. It’s also the subject of a new documentary titled “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” from CNN Films, which will debut on January 1, 2026.
In a lead up to the documentary that might feel like it’s longer than Chevy’s tenure on SNL, the trailer for the documentary has been released this week. A few clips are circulating, and the press machine is in full force. But what is the message?
Chevy Chase was SNL’s first superstar!
Why did Chevy Chase leave Saturday Night Live?
Whatever happened to Chevy Chase?
Chevy Chase is an asshole!
I suppose all of these taglines could be attached to this documentary. But, in the early rounds of press for the film, the message is: “Chase regrets leaving SNL.”
If that’s the type of revelation we can expect from this film, it may not be worth our time.
Chase helped SNL become a hit
When Saturday Night Live debuted in October of 1975 there had never been anything else like it on television. Previously, network TV was the domain of establishment entertainment. The generation in charge was the generation weened on radio and the birth of TV. The next generation, the boomers, who didn’t know anything but TV, had not yet been given the keys.
SNL was like letting the crazy young hippies have control of the broadcast signal. For 90 minutes every Saturday night and early Sunday morning, a young, long-haired, pot-smoking gang of comedians were allowed to prance around on the small little screen everyone had in their living room.
In the very first sketch in Episode 1 of SNL, Chase punctuated the comedy by barging in with the now-iconic line “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!“
That sketch didn’t make Chase a household name. But by December he was one, thanks to his smarmy, wise-cracking, meta performance as the faux anchor of a faux news segment called Weekend Update. That sketch remains a central part of the show today, and in large part it’s thanks to the effortless charm Chase brought to that desk.
“I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not,” became an ironic, post-post modern motto. And it came out of Chevy’s face.
Before Season 1 was even a dozen episodes in, Chase was the unquestioned star of the show. There was a sketch called “Chevy’s Girls” where Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner fawned over their fellow cast member like high schools at the feet of a high school quarterback. When Chase hurt himself while doing one of his trademark pratfalls, his return was played up in a cold open where he was rolled around the stage in a wheelchair. When Richard Pryor hosted the show, he was aware of the power Chase held on the cast, and demanded that Garrett Morris, the only black cast member, be allowed to say the “Live from New York…” line.
Chase deserved much of his attention in his brief tenure at Studio 8H. Executive producer Lorne Michaels, who was actually a year younger than Chase, acknowledged that Chevy helped craft the shape of the show. As a writer and performer, Chase was instrumental in the first 25 or so episodes. His Weekend Update set the template for that segment. His glances at the camera and breaking of the fourth wall were the first time the show winked at the audience as if to say, “Can you believe we’re doing this?” It was the last time the show established pop culture references and water cooler discussions, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Every time an someone says the iconic LFNY line, every time an SNL cast member smirks into the camera at the WU desk, and every time they perform physical humor, Chevy Chase should get a royalty.
Yet, speaking of “royalty” — Chase is noticeably NOT considered royalty by most SNL fans, even those who grew up on that first case in the 1970s. Yes, there is a nod to his influence, but current cast members are not listing him as a hero. John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Radner, even Bill Murray, those are names bandied about when legacy is discussed.
No SNL cast member in the 21st century gushes when they meet Chevy Chase. Instead, they’re leery.
We’re NOT Chevy Chase, and we’re glad
Post-SNL, Chase found marvelous success in roles that perfectly suited his Ivy League handsome persona and flippant personality. He shined in Caddyshack, Fletch, Spies Like Us, and the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie series.
He returned to Studio 8H to host following his mid-season exit in Season 2. Famously, he tussled with Murray backstage. Later, Chase hosted during the Dick Ebersole era. He returned four times solo hosting during Michaels’ second tenure as executive producer. He also hosted with Martin Short and Steve Martin once. His hosting stints were generally a disaster.
Here’s the thing: Chevy Chase is unlikable. In his many stints as a host, in his work on film locations, in his work on television shows covering decades, invariably the “Nightmare of working with Chevy Chase” is a theme. The cast of SNL in Season 1 knew Chevy was a jackass. The cast the next season, with Billy Murray in tow, knew he was insufferable. His pal Lorne knows it.
But funny is funny. And if you can “put asses in the seats” you can draw a paycheck in Hollywood. People have tolerated Chevy for decades.
During one return to host SNL, Chase pitched a sketch where they would weight Terry Sweeney, a gat cast member, to see if he had lost weight from having AIDS. Another time during a pitch session when he hosted in the 1990s, Chevy asked a production assistant to give him a hand job. Will Ferrell called Chase “the worst host ever.”
CNN Films may tell us those stories. I’m sure it will show us the apex of Chase’s stardom. I’m sure it will include sycophantic interviews with Chase’s closest friends (Chevy, Michaels and Paul Simon have been a tight friend circle since the 1970s). But whether or not CNN will tell us anything new about Chevy will be interesting to see. Chase’s most recent turn on Community produced lots of stories that illustrate he’s still an asshole.
Are assholes interesting? Yes, if they can do a spit take, apparently.
So far, CNN Films doesn’t have a great record of documentary films. There’s a doc on Lady Diana that was shallow and seemed exploitative. There are oodles of celeb-based “films” that feel more like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” takes. Then there are the series of films on pop culture (The 1980s, The 2010s, etc) that are so vapid it makes you want to read a book just to wash the dumbness out of your head.
Evidently, Chase was heavily involved in the documentary. That always make me wary. When the subject has a heavy hand in a documentary on his life, is that really a film or propaganda? Then again, do modern audiences know the difference? Witness The Last Dance for the Michael Jordan worship.
The Chase documentary comes at a time where SNL is getting the nostalgia treatment. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the late night show. A movie by Jason Reitman called “Saturday Night” was released in 2024, examining that iconic first episode. A documentary on Eddie Murphy is streaming now, and another on longtime SNL political satirist Jim Downey also debuted in 2025.
For a brief spell, about 25 episodes of a groundbreaking show, we all wanted to be Chevy Chase. Even when he reminded us that we couldn’t be, we wanted to know what it was like to be that hot, that hip.
In the end though, no one wants to be the real Chevy Chase.
