Saturday nights are about to look a little different.
Ahead of the season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live — and after boss Lorne Michaels promised to make some significant changes — several cast members have announced they won’t be returning.
SNL’s last season included cast members Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernandez, Ego Nwodim, Devon Walker, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Michael Longfellow, and Weekend Update co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost. Featured players Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline also joined the cast last year.
In a recent interview with Puck, Michaels, 80, confirmed he plans to “shake things up” next season after the show’s 50th finale passed without any major cast departures.
“I wanted people coming back and being part of [the 50th season],” he said.
“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,” he added.
Asked whether he felt “pressured to reinvent this season,” Michaels said he does.
Here’s who’s in and who’s out at SNL.
Departures
Heidi Gardner
In the biggest exit revealed so far, multiple publications reported Thursday that Heidi Gardner was out after eight seasons.
Last season, she was the longest-tenured current female cast member, and in Season 49, she appeared in more sketches than any other cast member, Variety reported.
She became known for her strong presence on Weekend Update and characters like Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend, and teen movie critic Bailey Gismert. She has not yet publicly reacted to reports of her departure.
Walker, 34, joined the cast in 2022 after writing for the Netflix sitcom Big Mouth and parodied celebrities and politicians, such as Michael Strahan and Tim Scott, during his time on the NBC sketch show.
The comedian admitted his experience on the long-running sketch show was “sometimes it was toxic as hell,” but “We made the most of what it was, even amidst all the dysfunction. We made a f***ed up lil family.”
Emil Wakim
Wakim, 27, joined the cast of SNL in 2024 for its 50th season, often appearing in the Weekend Update segment or performing stand-up bits as himself or various characters. In one memorable December segment, he played Luigi Mangione, the man charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In an announcement on social media, Wakim admitted his exit was a “gut punch” to receive.
“I won’t be returning to SNL next year. It was a gut-punch of a call to get, but I’m so grateful for my time there,” he wrote.
Michael Longfellow
Longfellow, 31, joined SNL in a featured capacity ahead of Season 48 and was promoted to a main cast member before Season 50 premiered. Best known for several appearances behind the Weekend Update desk, his departure was first reported by Deadline.
“Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL. Wish I was but, so it goes,” Longfellow shared on Instagram following the news.
Addressing Michaels directly, he added: “Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life... Thank you doesnt begin to cover it, but thank you.”
Arrivals
While the full company for Season 51 has yet to be announced, Michaels confirmed James Austin Johnson will return to continue portraying President Donald Trump.
Therefore, viewers are still waiting to learn the fates of the other main cast members. This page will be updated as casting announcements are made.
SNL 51 premieres on October 4 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
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