The CNN documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” features interviews with Chase, Lorne Michaels, Beverly D’Angelo, Martin Short, Goldie Hawn, and many more.

Chevy Chase admits it was a ‘mistake to leave SNL’ in new documentary (exclusive)

The CNN documentary "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" features interviews with Chase, Lorne Michaels, Beverly D'Angelo, Martin Short, Goldie Hawn, and many more.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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November 20, 2025 10:00 a.m. ET

Chevy Chase in 'I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not'. Credit:

- Filmmaker Marina Zenovich interviews Chevy Chase in the new CNN documentary *I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not*.

- In an exclusive trailer for the project. Chase says that "it was a mistake to leave *SNL*" after just one year on the show.

- The doc also features interviews with Lorne Michaels, Beverly D'Angelo, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Goldie Hawn, and more.

Chevy Chase regrets one of his defining career decisions.

The legendary comedian reflects on his TV and film career in the new CNN Films documentary *I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not*, and the trailer for the project, which ** can exclusively debut below, shows the *Community* star expressing remorse for one particular misstep.

"It was a mistake to leave *SNL*," Chase says in the preview.

After becoming *Saturday Night Live*'s breakout star in its inaugural season in 1975, Chase left the sketch series less than midway through its second season in 1976. He won two Emmys for his performance and writing during his brief tenure on the show.

*I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not* features interviews with many of Chase's most prominent collaborators from film and TV. Dan Aykroyd, who starred with the comedian on *SNL* and later reteamed with him for the 1985 movie *Spies Like Us* and the 1991 film *Nothing But Trouble*, describes his former costar as "exciting and talented" in the trailer for the doc.

Chevy Chase on 'Saturday Night Live' circa 1975.

Courtesy Everett Collection

Goldie Hawn, who acted opposite Chase in 1978's *Foul Play* and 1980's *Seems Like Old Times*, calls the actor "very, very funny" in the preview. She later opines, "Chevy has a deep heart, and that's the other part of the wild man."

Martin Short, who costarred with the comedian in 1986's *Three Amigos*, says that Chase was always "ready to say something sarcastic or edgy," and notes that his former collaborator enjoyed "massive movie star hits" at the peak of his career.

*SNL* boss Lorne Michaels, who later worked with Chase again when he co-wrote and produced *Three Amigos*, explains that the actor was susceptible to the temptations that come with movie stardom. "The forces pulling him were money, power, and all of that," he says. "And when Hollywood wants you, they're pretty good at it."

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And Beverly D'Angelo, who played Chase's on-screen wife in all five *Vacation* films, expresses similar ideas about Hollywood notoriety. "The thing about fame is that everything around you changes," she explains.

The trailer shows various clips from Chase's family home videos, and also addresses his prickly reputation, with text describing him as "a complicated comedy legend."

Chase concludes, "I don't think a lot of people have the happiness I have. I am who I am, and I like who I am."

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

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The doc is directed by Marina Zenovich, who previously helmed projects about Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Roman Polanski, and Lance Armstrong.

"I've always loved a challenge, and Chevy certainly offered one. I wanted to understand the real person behind the guarded, conflicted man we’ve often seen on camera," the filmmaker said in a press release. "Beneath the bravado, I found someone deeply self-aware, with layers of humor and emotion that make him far more complex than his public persona may suggest."

Produced by CNN Films and West Buttermilk in association with Propagate Content, Five All in the Fifth Productions, and Sky, *I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not* will premiere on CNN on Jan. 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary will be available to stream on Jan. 2 on CNN's streaming offering

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