Saturday Night Live’s 51st season is right around the corner on the 2025 TV schedule, and we’re still waiting to see who will make up the cast and who will be the first to serve as host and musical guest. Now, while we still don’t know specifics, SNL boss Lorne Michaels has confirmed that the cast will change this season, while also revealing one comedian who will still be on the show.
Lorne Michaels Confirmed That Cast Members Will Leave Ahead Of SNL Season 51
For months now, there’s been a lot of speculation about who won’t return to SNL. Kenan Thompson said “a lot of change” could happen this season, and some fans are wondering whether Colin Jost and other long-time cast members will be back. During an interview with Puck, Michaels was asked if he was going to “shake things up” this season, and in response, he said:
Yes. Last season, when we were at the party of the first show, quarter of four in the morning, Dana [Carvey, who played Joe Biden] comes over to me and says, ‘I don’t think anyone knows you called me June 4th [to play Biden].’ I wanted people coming back and being part of [the 50th season]. So when Kate [McKinnon] hosted, Kristen [Wiig] and Maya [Rudolph] came back for it. And that meant there couldn’t be those kind of disruptions [to the cast], or anything that was going to take the focus off [the 50th season]. And we had an election.
For context, Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney and Chloe Troast exited after Season 49, leaving the rest of the cast the same. While there were additions too, for the most part, the ensemble was consistent from season to season.
After Michaels' response that explained more about why Season 50’s cast was almost the same as 49’s than it did about what Season 51’s ensemble would look like, he was asked about the pressure to reinvent. In response to a question about whether he feels that “pressure” on the upcoming season, he said:
Yeah, for sure. It’ll be announced in a week or so.
Well, at least we’ll have some answers soon. However, we did get some answers here, too, as the SNL boss did confirm one returning cast member.
Lorne Michaels Revealed That James Austin Johnson Will Be Returning
You can always count on Lorne Michaels to have short and blunt answers, and that was certainly the case here. However, in this case, it provided a lot of clarity about the future for one vital cast member. When asked if James Austin Johnson would continue to play President Donald Trump, the SNL mastermind simply said:
Yes.
Considering how scary accurate James Austin Johnson’s Trump impersonation is, and SNL’s consistent political parody, this is unsurprising. Season 51 will mark the comedian's fifth season on the show as well, and considering that he’s now a long-time cast member and one of the best impersonators in the cast, I totally get why Michaels was quick to confirm his return.
Now, the question is: Who will come back with James Austin Johnson and who will exit? Mikey Day said he wants to stay “for as long as [he] can,” while Bowen Yang’s comments about SNL 50 had exit energy. It’s really unclear right now who will be back and who won’t.
However, Lorne Michaels did confirm that we’ll know who is making up Season 51’s ensemble sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you can go back and watch Season 50 with a Peacock subscription and take note of who you hope returns.
No matter what happens, though, remember that change is inevitable (especially with SNL) and can be a good thing. So, regardless of who makes up this upcoming cast, I’m sure we’re in for another wild ride when Saturday Night Live returns to its titular night.
