American sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL) is ushering in a new era with five fresh faces announced as cast members. The move comes after several former featured players stepped down — or were let go — from the long-running comedy show.
On Wednesday (local time), five new featured players were announced by NBC: Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.
The new staff additions come ahead of the 51st season after SNL creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, axed a bunch of existing cast members and brought in five fresh faces as featured cast members to spice things up.
So far, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim have confirmed their exits from the series via (kinda salty) statements on Instagram. Meanwhile, veteran SNL icon Heidi Gardener is believed to have left the show after eight seasons, but she has yet to confirm the rumour.
heidi deserved a send off at the end of the 50th specifically for this character break alone. a true comedic genius and she will be missed https://t.co/yIY4I5wktc pic.twitter.com/RUaSqHn6Y6
— n (@katemckinnonca1) August 28, 2025
So, who are the bright new faces set to be lighting up our screens next season? Let’s meet them, shall we?
Tommy Brennan
Tommy Brennan is a stand-up comedian from Minnesota. Most recently, he’s performed stand-up on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and opened for the likes of Nikki Glaser, Taylor Tomlinson and Louie Anderson. He took to Instagram to share the happy news, writing: “This doesn’t feel real, but we’ll see you guys on Saturdays!”
Jeremy Culhane
Jeremy Culhane is a comedian, actor and improv star. While he has credits in The Sex Lives of College Girls and American Vandal, he is better known for his sketches on TikTok, where he has more than 300k followers, and his work with his comedy group, the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Ben Marshall
If Ben Marshall looks familiar to you, that’s because it’s not the first time he’s appeared on SNL. Back in 2021, Marshall joined the SNL ranks as a writer and occasionally appeared in sketches as part of his comedy group, Please Do Not Destroy, alongside friends and collaborators John Higgins and Martin Herlihy.
While Higgins has left SNL completely, Herlihy is sticking around as a writer, while Marshall joins the featured cast troupe. Marshall heralded in the new era with a statement on Instagram.
“I love these boys so much,” he said, alongside a picture of Please Do Not Destroy together.
“I couldn’t be more grateful to have gotten into this business with my two best friends. Getting to write for SNL together and make our own videos for the show was beyond our wildest dreams — and I’m so proud of everything we’ve made so far. This is a new chapter, but we’re not going to stop working together anytime soon. Thanks to anyone who has watched our videos, watched our movie, or seen us on tour. It means the world.”
Veronika Slowikowska
Veronika Slowikoska is a Canadian actress and comedian. She has more than a million followers on Instagram and 600k on TikTok thanks to her hilarious and lowkey bizarre sketch video content.
The 29-year-old has also appeared in the comedy series What We Do in the Shadows.
Veronika’s addition to the featured cast comes after widespread whispers that she was in the running for a role on SNL. I, for one, am glad these rumours came true.
Kam Patterson
Kam Patterson is a stand-up comedian from Florida. Kam has more than 500k followers on Instagram and rose through the comedy ranks after appearing on controversial conservative comedian Tony Hinchcliffe‘s podcast Kill Tony.
Not a bad lineup, hey? Can’t wait to see how they go when season 51 kicks off later this year.
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