After countless articles, interviews, and well-reported pieces have been conducted about the mysterious, deep-voiced man who spotlighted a majority of the greatest comedians of the last five decades, is there anything new to say about Lorne Michaels? Not really, but Morgan Neville’s entertaining documentary does offer a snapshot of Michaels’ creative process and more than a few compelling details that a less nuanced filmmaker wouldn’t think to include. It also helps that the film includes the input of many individuals who built, sustained, and survived “Saturday Night Live,” all of whom are very, very funny.

Given that it would be impossible for even a multi-part docuseries to encapsulate every single significant moment of “Saturday Night Live” history (or even the broad strokes), Neville makes the smart decision to frame “Lorne” around the production process of a standard episode. Despite all the cultural and technological changes since 1975, there’s little about the timeline of Michaels’ schedule that has changed. While the footage collected is from the most recent year of the show, and includes its current cast, “Lorne” compiles an impressive array of archive footage from the show’s various eras.

It also draws in the voices of various participants who are able to voice their personal perspectives about what the experience meant to them. While this may seem like a conventional way of approaching the material, Neville is clever in how he merges the different eras. The aim isn’t to simply provide a hagiography (even if that is what it often feels like), but to show how trends were developed and sustained.

In some instances, it’s critical to see how Michaels adopted certain trends in the past, such as his decision to have all scripts written the week before airing, and to not reuse old pitches. However, there are also instances in which showing the contemporary process is a better hook, which only gets more interesting when delving into the past. Although it’s amusing to think of how Michaels wrangled the cast of eccentric personalities that currently star on the show, it’s unthinkable to imagine the perseverance required to control a wilder ensemble that included Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Chevy Chase.

That Michaels is an intriguing and mysterious presence is perhaps the best thing that “Lorne” has in its favor, as from the offset he wouldn’t seem like the man who changed comedy. It’s at first that the talking heads support the idea that Michaels is much funnier than anyone would expect, and it’s to Neville’s credit that that is quickly proven to be true. Michaels clearly has little interest in being self-aggrandizing, and doesn’t seem particularly nostalgic.

It probably wouldn’t be possible for someone in his position to not be constantly looking towards the future, which is the strongest point made by “Lorne” that other “Saturday Night Live” analysis pieces miss out on. Michaels never sought out to change culture or to make a statement, but rather found a platform for the funniest people of each respective era. Whether that meant spotlighting marginalized groups, dealing with controversial guests, responding to network pressure, or helping cast members through difficult personal periods, Michaels is framed as someone of convincing loyalty.

It’s ironically the exploration of any significant divisive moments in the show’s history that “Lorne” falls flat because it simply doesn’t have the capacity to go into much depth. An entire film could be made about the Sinead O’Connor backlash from the Catholic Church, the booking of Donald Trump, the firing of the 1985 cast, or the deaths of Chris Farley, John Belushi, and Phil Hartman. While Michaels’ resistance to being sentimental does make “Lorne” feel more authentic, it’s obvious that Neville isn’t entirely sure how to make a film that doesn’t acknowledge these moments.

As a result, the perspectives given are secondhand. While it is emotional to hear Adam Sandler talk about Michaels’s response to Farley’s death, it’s not providing anything that hasn’t been addressed previously. Context does come in handy for those familiar with certain major incidents in both “Saturday Night Live” history and the development of NBC, but “Lorne” does its best to offer a time capsule of the generational shifts.

There’s surprisingly little said about the original run of the show, which may be because it has already been well-documented by other recent projects. Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” offered a dramatized portrayal of the show’s first taping, and this year’s documentary “I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not” offered a balanced portrayal