Saturday Night Live just finished celebrating a milestone with 50 seasons on the air, and as the premiere of Season 51 nears, the NBC late-night sketch show is making some changes.
Cast shakeups on the variety show are not uncommon, but they do continue to take everyone by surprise when a comedian exits after multiple seasons.
As Lorne Michaels looks ahead to what SNL will look like for the next 50 years, some cast members have announced their exits, and we have compiled a list of all the actors who have confirmed they will not be returning.
RELATED: Every ‘SNL’ Cast Member Over the Years Since 1975
Scroll through the list below to see which SNL cast members are exiting ahead of Season 51.
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Michael Longfellow
Image Credit: NBC Michael Longfellow is leaving SNL after three seasons, Deadline reported exclusively earlier this week.
The comedian joined the sketch show as a featured player in Season 48 and was promoted to the main cast ahead of Season 50.
In a post on Instagram, Longfellow said goodbye to SNL, saying he “Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL.”
“Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far. I feel nothing but gratitude for the experience and everyone there,” Longfellow wrote. “Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life. You even put my mom on TV. Thank you doesnt begin to cover it, but thank you.”
He continued, “I’ll miss it all, but I’ll miss the friends I made and seeing them everyday the most. Excited for the future and things to come. If you take anything away from my time on SNL let it be that smoking you makes you skinny and popular, Jesus was Chinese, and if a tortoise ever gives you trouble just kill him tough guy. You wont.”
RELATED: ‘SNL’: Michael Longfellow Leaving After Three Seasons
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Heidi Gardner
Image Credit: NBC Heidi Gardner is also confirmed not to be returning to SNL Season 51. So far, Gardner is the most veteran cast member exiting the NBC show, leaving after eight seasons.
The comedic actress joined SNL in Season 43 as a featured player and was promoted to main cast member in 2019 for Season 45.
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Devon Walker
Image Credit: NBC Devon Walker, was the first cast member to exit SNL ahead of Season 51. Walker joined in 2022 as a featured player and was promoted to main cast member ahead of Season 50.
The comedic actor leaves SNL after a three-season stint. He has done impressions of the likes of Frank Ocean, Michael Strahan, Shannon Sharpe, Draymond Green and Eric Adams during his time on the show.
Walker took to Instagram to share the news, writing, “Me and baby broke up.”
“To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages. Some of ‘em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is when you sign up,” he wrote in a statement.
He continued, “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a fucked up lil family.”
“More than anything, I’m just really happy I got to do it with Gary and Alex. Niggas really went from running a bar show to working together at 30 Rock. It’s a beautiful thing, Also, I looked cake up in that picture and I feel like it’s important for people to know what I got going on. Anyway, I’m ‘bout to go to Japan. When I get back I’m tryna be in a prestige drama. Ideally something with Julianne Moore. Hope y’all staying hydrated and getting some money today.”
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Emil Wakim
Image Credit: NBC Emil Wakim, who joined SNL ahead of Season 50, is also confirmed to not be returning to the NBC late-night sketch show after one season.
Wakim was a featured player who joined the cast alongside Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.
The actor took to Instagram to share, “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. i was at six flags celebrating my friends 36th birthday and went on a really emotional walk through bugs bunny park and stared out across daffy duck lake thinking about life.”
“Every time i scanned into the building i would think how insane it is to get to work there. it was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and i will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home. thank u to lorne for taking a chance on me and changing my life,” he continued. “I was so lucky to bring some of myself in there and say things i believed in and i’m excited for whatever chapter comes next. here’s to making more art without compromise.”
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