 After his co @-@ stars Jon Lovitz , Dennis Miller , Jan Hooks and Dana Carvey had left , Hartman said he felt " like an athlete who 's watched all his World Series teammates get traded off into other directions ... It was hard to watch them leave because I sort of felt we were all part of the team that saved the show . " This cast turnover contributed to his leaving the show in 1994 . Hartman had originally planned to leave the show in 1991 , but Michaels convinced him to stay to raise his profile ; his portrayal of Clinton contributed to this goal . Jay Leno offered him the role of his sidekick on The Tonight Show but Hartman opted to stay on SNL . NBC persuaded him to stay on SNL by promising him his own comedy – variety show entitled The Phil Show . He planned to " reinvent the variety form " with " a hybrid , very fast @-@ paced , high energy [ show ] with sketches , impersonations , pet acts , and performers showcasing their talents " . Hartman was to be the show 's executive producer and head writer . Before production began , however , the network decided that variety shows were too unpopular and scrapped the series . In a 1996 interview , Hartman noted he was glad the show had been scrapped , as he " would 've been <unk> ' blood each week trying to make it work " . In 1998 , he admitted he missed working on SNL , but had enjoyed the move from New York City to Southern California . 
