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Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary last season, and as it heads into the next half-century, it’s doing what many established entertainment entities are these days: looking online for fresh talent.

In the leadup to Season 51’s Oct. 4 premiere, several cast members have exited, including Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and John Higgins, a key member of the Lonely Island-esque trio Please Don’t Destroy, who’ve spent the last four seasons of SNL making digital shorts, some of them successfully viral.

Comedian, actor, and writer Walker, who was on SNL for three years, announced his exit on Instagram, saying, “Me and the show did three years together,...

People are genuinely devastated that Please Don’t Destroy has been destroyed. The comedy trio, made up of Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall and John Higgins, has helmed digital shorts at Saturday Night Live in recent years. Now though, the group has been splintered into three separate endeavors, with only two of the three remaining at SNL.

Marshall has been moved to the cast, while Herlihy is going to remain on the show as a writer. Higgins will be leaving the show, and says he will be pursuing acting opportunities. “Thank you to everyone who made my time there so special, it made this decision that much harder,” Higgins wrote on Instagram.

A big-shot Saturday Night Live veteran like Michael Che doesn’t need to know the name of the latest one-and-done Zoomer whom Lorne Michaels will dump faster than a sketch where a wig is the star.

Yesterday afternoon, Saturday Night Live made headlines by announcing a whopping five new cast members for the upcoming Season 51, which is scheduled to premiere on October 4th. The addition of Veronika Slowikowska, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Tommy Brennan followed a bleak week of SNL departures as Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow left the show, all while Che was making cryptic Instagram post after cryptic Instagram post hinting at his...

Saturday Night Live, the iconic comedy show, will be returning for its 51st season on October 4, 2025. The show will air live on NBC and Peacock and will include the show’s 1000th episode.

SNL first aired in 1975 and has featured prominent stars in its run, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Chevy Chase, and Eddie Murphy, to name a few.

The show will see the return of many familiar and new faces.

Who Are The New and Returning Cast Members?

SNL just announced five new faces, so here are a few details about them (via NY Times):

New Cast Memberbackground Ben MarshallSNL writer and member of the Please Don’t Destroy team.

Lorne, what are you doing?

After all the criticism in recent years along the lines of Saturday Night Live's Cast Is Just Too Big, SNL producer Lorne Michaels appeared to get the message with last week’s comedian purge. Over the course of five days, Heidi Gardener, Emil Wakim, Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow were all given their walking papers, reducing the show’s roster to a more manageable size.

But that good work was immediately undone yesterday when SNL announced it was adding five new comics — Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska, Tommy Brennan and Jeremy Culhane. Five new cast members? As Saturday Night Network reported, that was...

Heidi Gardner is one of Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) longest-serving cast members. In fact, she is the longest-tenured female cast member of the show currently, joining in 2017. But it was revealed in late August 2025 that she as well as some other cast members, won’t be a part of season 51. This is a result of the sweeping changes brought about by executive producer Lorne Michaels, who wants a cast overhaul to start anew after the show’s golden anniversary.

Gardner’s characters, like teenage movie critic Bailey Gismert, as well as Angel, who was the archetype of every boxer’s girlfriend, were viral sensations. All of these showcased her acting and comedic range.

Saturday Night Live wrapped up its fiftieth season on May 17, 2025, with Scarlett Johansson serving as the episode‘s host. The episode turned out to be a bittersweet moment for Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and Devon Walker as they parted ways with the late-night TV series.

Ahead of season 51, these four cast members have exited the show, leaving their fans in a state of melancholy.

Gardner joined SNL in 2017 and has been a part of the show for a total of eight seasons. Longfellow and Walker both joined in 2022 and have been with SNL for three seasons. Wakim, though, has only been in a single season as he joined...

After celebrating its 50th anniversary, Saturday Night Live is entering Season 51 with one of the boldest overhauls in years. The show has added five featured players, restructured the popular digital trio Please Don’t Destroy, and said goodbye to several familiar performers. The changes were confirmed on September 2, 2025, just weeks before the season premiere on October 4. This is also expected to be the landmark thousandth episode, marking a historic moment for the NBC staple.

Meet the Five New Featured Players

Deadline revealed that five comedians are joining the cast as featured players. Each brings a distinct background, suggesting a deliberate effort by producer Lorne Michaels to diversify the show’s comedic arsenal.

Another era of pre-taped "Saturday Night Live" sketches is coming to a close with news that Please Don't Destroy, the heir apparent to The Lonely Island, is ... destroyed.

Okay, "destroyed" is dramatic, but I had to — and to be blunt, two of the comedians are still involved with "SNL." Amidst news of exits — like those of Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow — and new cast additions like chaotic "Dropout" standout Jeremy Culhane, we learned that Ben Marshall, one of the three members of "Please Don't Destroy," is becoming a featured player as a part of the "SNL" cast for season 51. According to a report in Vulture, which also learned the group...

Lorne Michaels has q-white the vision for Season 51 of Saturday Night Live. After a historic 50th anniversary season, the departure of four cast members — Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow — set the internet ablaze with accusations that Michaels had something against hot people. The new casting shows that maybe he doesn’t have any strong opinions about whether or not his cast is hot, but he does really want a white male majority.

The new cast announcements revealed that Veronika Slowikowska, Kam Patterson, Ben Marshall, Jeremy Culhane and Tommy Brennan are all joining the show in October. Brennan is one of the three white men joining the...

Saturday Night Live is no stranger to big cast shakeups. I mean, it’s been on the air for nearly five decades, so change is part of the deal. Still, that doesn’t mean fans don’t take it hard when their favorite comedians leave the late-night staple.

Sadly, news broke last week that four cast members were exiting ahead of the highly anticipated SNL season 51. This led to an outpouring of reactions from fans on social media, with heartfelt messages and even some dramatic “we can’t believe they’re gone” posts flooding timelines.

But amid the digital mourning, Devon Walker, one of the departing stars, has stepped in...

Saturday Night Live Season 51 is going to look a lot different. In the past few weeks, several cast members — including Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and Devon Walker — and a handful of the show’s writers have announced that they’re leaving SNL ahead of the next season.

The exits seem to be part of wider changes expected at the NBC staple after SNL creator Lorne Michaels said in an interview with Puck that fans can expect major moves leading up to the premiere of the new season on Oct. 4. When...

Ben Marshall of comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy — memorably described as “a sad Ron Weasley” by Taylor Swift in a 2022 sketch — has been promoted to a featured player on Saturday Night Live for his fifth season on the show, according to an NBC press release. Previously, he and his Please Don’t Destroy co-founders, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, were writers who made pre-recorded videos for the show. (SNL has not yet confirmed the current status of Higgins and Herlihy.)

Four other performers will join the show as featured players, according to NBC: Tommy Brennan,...

The Please Don’t Destroy era at Saturday Night Live is coming to an end.

Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy have starred in a series of Please Don’t Destroy filmed sketches since they joined the SNL writing staff in 2021. NBC announced Tuesday that Marshall is joining the show’s cast as a featured player for the coming 51st season; with that came news that Higgins is leaving the show to pursue other opportunities, while Herlihy will remain a writer. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that with the trio no longer all employed at SNL, no more Please Don’t Destroy sketches are planned.

Marshall, Higgins and Herlihy plan to continue working on other projects together outside of SNL, including deals they have to co-write a pair of features at two different studios, sources tell THR. They previously wrote and starred in the 2023 film The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, which premiered on Peacock.

“Saturday Night Live” is shaking things up ahead of its 51st season. Ben Marshall has been promoted to the featured cast, and four new performers are joining the show. Veronika Slowikowska, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Tommy Brennan will all appear as featured players. NBC confirmed the additions as part of a larger cast update.

The changes come after several longtime and newer cast members left the show. Heidi Gardner, who had been with SNL for eight seasons, recently departed. Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, both with three seasons under their belts, also left. Emil Wakim, who had only been on the show for one season, announced his exit as well.

“Saturday Night Live” is making big changes to its cast ahead of Season 51. Ben Marshall has been promoted to the featured cast, and four new performers are joining the show as featured players.

Veronika Slowikowska, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Tommy Brennan are all stepping into the spotlight. The news comes from NBC.

This shake-up comes after several cast members left the show recently. Heidi Gardner, who had been on SNL for eight seasons, departed along with Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker, who were on the show for three seasons each, and Emil Wakim, who was there for one season.

Marshall is entering his fifth season with SNL. He started...

After several shocking cast exits, Saturday Night Live has finally hired their replacements for next season. During the summer break, SNL creator Lorne Michaels finalizes the cast lineup for the following season. Sometimes, the cast exits are surprising, regardless of whether they were long-running stars or not.

It was recently announced that Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim are leaving SNL. It's unknown if there will be more announcements, especially since there was speculation for several months about whether Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che would be returning.

According to Deadline, Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska have been hired...

A few days after four people departed the Saturday Night Live cast, the NBC sketch series is bringing several new members into its ensemble — including one already familiar to viewers of recent seasons.

Ben Marshall, an SNL writer since 2021 and a member of Please Don’t Destroy (along with John Higgins and Martin Herlihy), will join the cast as a featured player for the 2025-26 season. Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska have also been named featured players.

The announcement of the new featured players comes after a week that saw castmembers Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker leave the show in the largest cast turnover since 2022.

The Please Don’t Destroy trio, however, won’t all be coming back to SNL. Marshall will no longer be on the writing staff as he moves into the cast, and Higgins is departing. Herlihy will remain a writer on the show,...

In the wake of last week’s “Saturday Night Live” cast exits, NBC announced on Tuesday that the sketch show will add five new featured players for Season 51, including Please Don’t Destroy member Ben Marshall.

The other new featured players added to the “SNL” cast are Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Meanwhile, Please Don’t Destroy’s John Higgins will exit “SNL” while Martin Herlihy remains on as a writer.

Marshall was hired as a writer on “SNL” in 2021 and appears as part of the Please Don’t Destroy comedy trio’s pre-taped videos alongside Higgins and Herlihy.

Marshall is the only new featured player with a history on “SNL,...

There’s been a veritable avalanche of news regarding the casting changes at Saturday Night Live. From endless speculation about if the Weekend Update hosts would be changing to the announcement of major cast departures, the lead up to Season 51 has felt like a four-week-long NFL draft. Except, instead of hopeful college football players, the key figures are comedians in their 30s and an increasingly fragile 80-year-old Lorne Michaels.

Michael Longfellow has been at the center of much of this speculation and news, primarily because his departure from the show was announced alongside that of Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Heidi Gardner. But while the other departures were upsetting, Longfellow...

Saturday Night Live has added five new cast members ahead of Season 51.

The most headline grabbing name is that of Ben Marshall, one of the founders of comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy, which regularly make digital videos for the show and appear in sketches.

Please Don’t Destroy consists of Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, who all joined the show in 2021. Herlihy is thought to be staying as a writer with Higgins leaving.

Elsewhere, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska are joining the show.

It comes after Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow left the show, not quite the exodus that many were expecting. It also means that unless any of the other current cast members leave, the cast will be bigger than it was last year.

Saturday Night Live, which is produced by Broadway Video, returns on October 4.

Brennan, who was previously...

Saturday Night Live has hired five new featured players — though only four of them are technically new.

While the fates of more than a dozen repertory players remain in limbo, NBC has announced that Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall has been added as a featured player, along with fellow comedians Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. (Following Marshall’s promotion, Pdd will disband. Variety reports that Martin Herlihy will remain on SNL’s writing staff, while John Higgins will depart the series altogether to pursue other opportunities.)

More from TVLine#OneChicago Trailer Introduces a Big Med Baby Daddy Clue,...

The 50th season of Saturday Night Live was a massive hit — both commercially and at the Emmy Awards, where the franchise nabbed a combined 31 nominations. But now, all eyes are on Season 51 of NBC's sketch-comedy series. The long-running variety program announced Tuesday that five new featured players are joining the ensemble.

The newcomers to the cast for the 51st season include: Tommy Brennan, who was selected as a Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy in 2023 and has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; Jeremy Culhane, who's known for his viral TikTok and online videos and is a regular on Dropout TV and also performs with Upright Citizens Brigade; Ben Marshall,...

Devon Walker has revealed what led to him leaving Saturday Night Live. Walker joined Saturday Night Live's cast in 2022 after working as a comedian. Walker announced he was leaving SNL's cast when he posted, "me and baby broke up" on Instagram alongside an image of himself standing in front of a TV with the show's logo on it.

After the SNL 50th Anniversary Special was a success, Lorne Michaels announced there would be a major cast shakeup before season 51. So far, Walker, Michael Longfellow, Heidi Gardner, and Emil Wakim have exited in an exodus that has been bigger than fans expected. After announcing his exit, Walker has now...

At “Saturday Night Live,” there’s drama before you get to the comedy.

Every year at about this time, credulous observers of the venerable late-night NBC showcase get flustered by a series of cast changes that roll out about four to six weeks ahead of the next season premiere of the program. Sometimes, “SNL” just adds a few featured players. In other years, a good chunk of cast veterans opt to depart. At some points in time, cost constraints or network edicts have forced executive producer Lorne Michaels to make personnel moves he might not otherwise wish to put into practice.

The increase in hand-wringing around the process, which has become an ingrained element of the “SNL” calendar, is more humorous than some of “SNL’s” skits.

In recent days, three young members of the “SNL” cast — featured player Emil Wakim and early-tenured Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow — have announced their exits from the show,...

Amid the cast shake-up at Saturday Night Live, current and former stars are sharing their reactions to the news ahead of season 51.

Last week, it was revealed that Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim have exited the long-running NBC sketch comedy series — the most departures since 2022, when eight people left SNL ahead of season 48.

Some of those leaving took to their respective social media accounts to announce their departures, leading other current and former SNL stars to react in the comments.

Longfellow shared on Instagram that he’s leaving after three seasons. Bowen Yang responded to his post, writing, “Jesus Was Chinese. I love you Michael.” The Wicked actor was referencing Longfellow’s claim during one of his previous Weekend Update segments.

Marcello Hernández also shared, “Love bro, thank you for letting me cfb whenever, my roommate,” to which Longfellow replied, “the ps5, shes yours now brother.

Saturday Night Live Season 51 Faces Major Cast Shake-Up as Beloved Stars Exit(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Saturday Night Live’s 51st season is set to be the end of an era for many of the iconic comedy series’ cast members. The NBC show’s 51st season is set to see a particularly high cast turnover, with many beloved comedians having departed in its lead-up.

Many of these announcements have come via the social media handles of the SNL stars, as well as media reports from outlets like Variety. Read on to learn more about all the beloved Saturday Night Live stars who will no longer be with us from the 51st season onwards.

While Devon Walker indicated earlier this week that Saturday Night Live fans are perhaps taking his and his fellow cast members’ departures harder than the actors themselves, the former repertory player revealed today the decision to leave was a mutual one.

“The big question,” Walker began when asked by Rolling Stone in a new interview if his exit was by choice. “To be frank, I guess the best way I put it is like me and the show kind of looked at each other and we decided together that it was time to go our separate ways. I think I felt ready to leave the show, and I think the show felt ready to leave me.”

He continued, “I was just ready to do something else. We both felt like it was time. This was such a big time commitment, and life commitment. There’s been a lot of life...

If you were planning to mark your calendars and start a countdown to the premiere of Saturday Night Live's new season next month, you're going to have to wait a little while longer. Following the landmark 50th season of the late night sketch series and the subsequent celebration of its milestone anniversary, SNL will be taking a bit more time to return with new episodes this fall.

While SNL season 50 made its premiere in late September, that won't be the case with season 51. NBC has set a premiere date for Saturday Night Live season 51 on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. That's not too much longer to wait compared to late September, and...

Devon Walker is feeling sanguine about leaving Saturday Night Live. Although he said in an Instagram announcement of his departure that his former workplace could be “toxic as hell,” Walker tells Rolling Stone he’s “grateful” for the experience.

And he’d like to remind folks that, really, it’s not all that deep. As heartbroken fans have been reacting online to the ongoing off-season shakeup — in addition to Walker, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, and Emil Wakim have thus far exited the long-running sketch-comedy series — he jumped on X to say,...

As major shake-ups have been happening to the cast of Saturday Night Live, one star has responded to the reactions that the fans have been having. SNL has been on the air since 1975, coming live from New York every Saturday night to bring comedic skits that speak on pop culture with an ensemble cast and celebrity host. Its 51st season will premiere October 4.

This week, the exits of SNL stars Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner were all announced, which led to stunned reactions from fans of the show. Walker, the first cast member to announce that they would not be returning for the SNL season 51, responded to a tweet,...

As of the publish time of this story, four members of Saturday Night Live’s season 50 cast aren’t returning for season 51, which is set to begin Oct. 4. The departures of Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker make for the largest cast turnover since 2022, when eight performers left.

It’s also far from unprecedented in SNL’s history — in fact, the show has rarely gone more than a few years without a significant overhaul of its cast. Over the half-century Saturday Night Live has been airing on NBC, cast shakeups have roiled the show numerous times, with some performers leaving of their own accord and others let go for a myriad of reasons ranging from budget cuts to a desire by SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels for fresh faces and perspectives.

“The cryptic hiring protocols extend to staying hired,” writes Susan Morrison in her biography of Michaels, Lorne:...

The “SNL” cast member exodus has begun and a bunch of alums are letting their thoughts out.

Devon Walker was one of the cast parting ways with the series ahead of Season 51. He came to think some fans of the show might be overreacting to the news of the handful of departures. One fan mourned on X saying “ohhh my boys @internetdevon @Longfellowww i wish you both nothing but the best.” Walker had to respond directly to it calming the fan.

“Yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs,” he wrote.

yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs https://t.co/pkcNxNOza5

— Devon...

Of the announced departing cast, only Heidi Gardner can be considered a long time member of Saturday Night Live. The other three, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, and Emil Wakim, were there for much less time — Walker and Longfellow for three years, and Wakim for just one. This has some of the (hopefully younger) fans of the cast worried about what’s next for the comedians. There’s been so much fanfare around the departures, including a funeral-style video montage on TikTok, that it feels like some people haven’t lived through any sudden cast departures before.

But this has all happened before. Back when Walker, Longfellow and Wakim couldn’t legally rent a car,...

Saturday Night Live is setting things up for Season 51, and with the new season comes a cast shakeup that is seeing some of its stars departing.

So far, the actors who have confirmed their exits include Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, and Emil Wakim, with more announcements expected soon.

Current cast members like Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, and Marcello Hernández have taken to social media to share their reactions following the SNL exits.

Longfellow, who shared a post confirming he was leaving the NBC late-night sketch show after three seasons, had some SNL stars and alums in the comments.

Yang replied, “Jesus Was Chinese. I love you Michael.”

The Las Culturistas podcast host was referring to Longfellow making that claim during one of his interventions on Weekend Update.

Marcello Hernández wrote, “love bro, thank you for letting me cfb whenever, my roommate.”

Emil Wakim, who also is leaving SNL,...

Saturday Night Live is saying goodbye to some memorable members of its abundantly talented ensemble cast.

On August 28, it was reported that Heidi Gardner would be leaving SNL after starring on the long-running sketch comedy show for eight seasons. After joining the cast in 2017 for Season 43, she quickly became a standout with appearances on “Weekend Update" and recurring characters like Angel (Aka Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever). More recently, her performance in the April 2024 sketch where she constantly broke character upon seeing Mikey Day and host Ryan Gosling dressed as a real-life Beavis and Butt-Head made her go viral on the internet. At the time, she...

It isn’t often that Saturday Night Live cast news breaks the way Marvel or DC scoops do, but that’s where we are after a whirlwind week. A well-known scooper has now reported on possible additions to SNL’s cast, marking a rare development for the show. The extra attention comes after a wave of departures and shakeups that put the spotlight on who is coming and going at Studio 8H.

According to entertainment industry insider Jeff Sneider, Saturday Night Live is circling stand-up comedian Kam Patterson to join the cast for season 51. The Orlando native has gained a loyal following thanks to his appearances on the Kill Tony podcast and supporting tours.

Thirty years ago, Don Ohlmeyer gave Saturday Night Live legends Adam Sandler and Chris Farley the ax. It’s funny how no one will ever make a nostalgic biopic about O.J.’s old buddy.

Naked Gun actor and former It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia guest star Paul Walter Hauser is playing the late comedy great Farley in a forthcoming biopic about one of SNL’s all-time most popular cast members, and the Emmy-winner is doing his due diligence on a role that means so much to so many members of the entertainment community. When Farley passed away in 1997, he left behind an immense body of work and a personal impact...

Saturday Night Liveis losing a beloved cast member as Heidi Gardner makes her exit from the show. She's also the fourth SNL star to leave in the past week.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Heidi Gardner is officially making her exit from the cast of Saturday Night Live after nearly a decade on the series. Gardner is the fourth member of the cast to leave SNL in just the past few days, following the exits of Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow. As of the time of writing, NBC had declined to comment on the matter, though SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels had previously stated that cast changes for the...

Look, I find Lorne Michaels’ obvious distaste for hot people as offensive as the next guy. I want to objectify Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim on a weekly basis, from the comfort of my own home and am bummed about losing out on that opportunity. But unfortunately, Michaels has decided to fire everyone who looks like they could be the absolute perfect college boyfriend.

But some fans of the dearly departed SNL cast members have seemed to confuse their exit from Saturday Night Live with a departure from this Earthly realm. As Walker put it on X, “yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs.

Devon Walker has responded to support from “Saturday Night Live” fans after he announced he is exiting the show after three seasons.

“Ohhh my boys,” wrote a social media user who posted photos of Walker with Michael Longfellow, who is also leaving “SNL” after three seasons. “I wish you both nothing but the best,” the fan added, using a sad face and heart emojis.

Walker quipped back on X, “Y’all acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs.”

Walker, who was well-known on “SNL” for his Eric Adams and Michael Strahan impressions, is among four cast members who will not be returning for the show’s upcoming 51st season, premiering on NBC on Oct. 4. Announcing his departure on Instagram on Aug. 25, Walker wrote, “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what...

Longtime Saturday Night Live cast member and former co-head writer Michael Che can’t stop making coy, cryptic posts about his possible departure from the show while his colleagues are getting the ax. Maybe Lorne Michaels should lower the bar on his “only fire the hot guys” strategy.

This past Sunday, Che took to Instagram to tease SNL drama without actually spoiling any of Michaels’ offseason plans or revealing any new information, posting a pitch-black story with the suggestive caption, “this next week may determine the rest of my comedy career.” Che followed up that ominous non-announcement with a picture of a latte, captioning the story, “This.” as part of his running joke that,...

“Saturday Night Live” cast exits are starting to pile up ahead of Season 51, and among them so far is Heidi Gardner. Over the course of her eight seasons with the NBC show, she became a fan-favorite — and for good reason.

With so many episodes under her belt, Gardner was the longest tenured female cast member on the show, joining back in 2017. Her exit came following the announcements of Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim also leaving the show after Season 50 (with more likely still to follow).

Gardner had a handful of recurring characters on “SNL,” including Angel (every boxer’s girlfriend), teen film critic Bailey Gismert, Goop staffer Baskin Johns,...

Leading up to the 51st season of "Saturday Night Live" premiere on October 4, 2025, showrunner Lorne Michaels teased a "shake-up" at the late night sketch show (via Puck). After making good on that promise by axing cast members like Devon Walker, the Norm Macdonald-esque Michael Longfellow, and single season featured player Emil Wakim, one of the biggest changes yet came with word that longtime cast member Heidi Gardner would not be returning to "SNL."

Vulture was the first to report on Heidi Gardner's departure from "SNL." As for the reasoning, it's not clear whether Gardner wasn't asked back or if she chose to leave the show after eight seasons. However,...

“Wtf is happening?” wondered Punkie Johnson, reacting to the news that Michael Longfellow and at least three other cast members were leaving Saturday Night Live, the show she starred on for four seasons.

As a victim of SNL’s constant cast turnover just last year, Johnson can’t really be surprised, even though this year’s upheaval looks to be more tumultuous than usual. Four cast departures — Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Heidi Gardner and Longfellow — are already announced, with the rumor mill suggesting that more exits are still to come.

Even when cast members leave of their own accord, the news is still melancholy for the SNL community. Alums of...

Newly former Saturday Night Live cast member Devon Walker has a message for sympathetic fans mourning his and several fellow players’ just-announced departures: Relax, it’s just a job.

“Yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs,” Walker posted in response to an X user named Bev who had written about Walker and canned cast member Michael Longfellow, “Ohhh my boys – I wish you both nothing but the best.”

This year’s annual cast-trimming seems to have struck some fans particularly hard, what with the popular Walker, Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Heidi Gardner among producer Lorne Michaels’ chopping-block heads. The four will not be returning for Season 51 of the long-running comedy staple; writers Rosebud Baker and Celeste Yim are also among the show’s newly formers.

Earlier this week, prior to the announcements about Gardner and Yim, 2020-2024 cast member Punkie Johnson joined the wave of sympathy,...

In a major shakeup ahead of SNL’s anticipated 51st season, Heidi Gardner is bowing out after eight incredible years on the iconic sketch show. Gardner joined SNL way back in 2017 and quickly became a fan favorite for her offbeat characters—just think of “Bailey Gismert” and the unforgettable “Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend from Every Boxing Movie Ever.” She held the crown as SNL’s longest-running female cast member last season, but now, like recent headline-grabbing exits such as Emil Wakim’s departure, Gardner is stepping away as the SNL stage is reset for the next era.

Heidi Gardner’s Exit: What Really Happened?

So, what’s behind Gardner’s decision to step away?...

Saturday Night Live is primed to look very different in season 51, and one of its recent cast-offs is reacting to the dramatic fan response.

The exits of SNL season 50 castmembers Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner were announced this week, leading to stunned reaction from viewers of the long-running NBC sketch show. Gardner had been a castmember for eight seasons, while Walker and Longfellow had been SNL performers for three seasons. Wakim had logged just one year as a featured player.

Writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker have also announced their exits.

On Thursday, one X user tagged Walker and Longfellow in a post sharing previous photos of the pair posing together, with the fan adding a note to “wish you both nothing but the best.” This led Walker to respond, “Yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs.”

This sentiment mirrored that of...

Several cast changes are happening at Saturday Night Live this week. CNN confirmed on Thursday that Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow are leaving the sketch show. They are the third and fourth cast members to depart in just a few days.

Gardner has been part of SNL for eight seasons. She became known for playing quirky, neurotic characters, including the fan-favorite Angel, a boxer’s girlfriend from countless imaginary films.

Longfellow spent three seasons on the show. CNN has reached out to the cast members’ representatives and SNL for comments.

Earlier this week, Devon Walker also announced he was leaving the show. On Instagram, he described the work environment as “toxic as hell.

More changes are happening at Saturday Night Live. CNN reported on Thursday that Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow are leaving the show. They become the third and fourth cast members to depart this week.

Gardner has been on SNL for eight seasons. She was known for creating memorable characters like Angel, a boxer’s girlfriend in countless imaginary films, and other quirky, funny roles.

Longfellow had been with the show for three seasons. CNN has reached out to representatives for both Gardner and Longfellow, as well as SNL, for comment.

These departures follow earlier exits this week. On Monday, Devon Walker announced on Instagram that he was leaving the show,...