Saturday Night Live is going to look quite different when it returns for its 51st season in October amid the 2025 TV schedule. That’s because the Lorne Michaels-produced sketch comedy show has made some major changes to its cast. Several members of the ensemble have been cut, and new faces have been brought in. Surprisingly, series veteran Heidi Gardner is one of the stars who’ve left, and alleged details about her exit have since surfaced. Now, sources are sharing thoughts on Gardner’s professional future.
What Might The Future Hold For Heidi Gardner?
Heidi Gardner – who starred on SNL for eight seasons – has yet to formally speak out about leaving the show, as of this writing. Yet the past few days have seen people make claims about her departure. Series alum Dana Carvey alleged, during an episode of his Fly on the Wall podcast, that it wasn’t Gardner’s decision to leave. An insider who spoke to The New York Post backed up those claims, saying that the actress’ contract simply wasn’t renewed amid the flood of cast changes.
Nevertheless, a few people close to Saturday Night Live apparently aren’t worried about the Kansas City-born comedian in the aftermath of her exit. Supposed producers for the long-running NBC show spoke to TMZ, expressing the viewpoint that Gardner’s career will flourish moving forward. They attribute that to the increased number of gigs that she’s been stacking up as of late. It’s also said that there’s reportedly no bad blood between Gardner and her former employers over what’s gone down.
It is indeed true that SNL alum Heidi Gardner had been making a name for herself outside of the sketch comedy series in recent years. She parlayed her success from that show into appearances on other TV series like You and Girls5eva. Gardner also had a key supporting role on the hit dramedy series Shrinking and served as a judge on Is It Cake? As for movies, Gardner has appeared in live-action and animated fare, including Otherhood, Puss in Buss: The Last Wish, Leo and Hustle. She’s also appeared in various commercials.
Although the reports from the alleged producers should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s not far-fetched to think that the Alien News Desk alum is on solid footing career-wise. That aside, of course, there’s also the matter of her other ex-co-stars who will no longer report to Studio 8H.
Who Else Was Cut From SNL Ahead Of Season 51?
The Saturday Night Live cast cuts that have unfolded in recent weeks have taken plenty of fans by surprise, with even series alum Punkie Johnson expressing disbelief on social media. Devon Walker was the first cast member announced to be cut ahead of Season 51, with Emil Wakim’s exit being confirmed shortly after. Eventually, it was also revealed that Michael Longfellow had been let go as well.
Each of three aforementioned recently cut SNL stars have spoken out about their departures. As of right now, their future plans remain unclear but, given their talents, I’d personally wager that they’ll land their share of gigs as time goes on. Devon Walker, for his part, has already named a few A+ TV shows that he’d love to join now that he’s available.
On the other side of this equation, Lorne Michaels and co. have officially signed five new stars for the latest season. Veronika Slowikowska, Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane and Tommy Brennan along with Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall are now part of the cast. So, to put it simply, a new era has arrived for SNL, and that’ll unfold as Heidi Gardner and co. take the next steps in their careers.
Saturday Night Live Season 51 (with the new cast) premieres on NBC on October 4 at 11:35 p.m. ET, and episodes will also be streamable with a Peacock subscription.
