In recent years, we've all been together through the good ("Del Taco Shoot") and the very, very bad (I wanna forgive you, and I want to forget you, Robert De Niro's Robert Mueller). But as the excellent Season 46 edges nearer to a close, questions about which Saturday Night Live cast members might be leaving only start picking up steam. Not only did gossip Instagram account Deux Mois begin postulating whose exit is near, but posters on Reddit have even started to fear that their faves might be departing.
Because, after Season 46 made the unprecedented move of bringing back every single cast member (and adding a handful more) for a pandemic season, it seems obvious that we would need to lose at least some — after all, the cast is now made up of 20 people. That's right, 20 people. With a cast that large, it's been difficult for its stars to get camera time they deserve (let's play a game called Where's Melissa Villaseñor?), let alone its new featured players. But who might get the axe, or gracefully exit? Let's inspect...
Safe
Though Lorne Michaels can be unpredictable (he funded a It's Pat: The Movie after all), a loss of the following players would be a surprise not even Kristen Wiig's Sue could handle: featured players Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, and Andrew Dismukes have all gotten enough screen time and laughs to justify a promotion (with Fineman even scoring multiple cold opens), while Chris Redd, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, and Mikey Day continue to infuse great energy into the show. Though Alex Moffat has remained an under-appreciated gem, stepping in to play Joe Biden seems to be enough to guarantee him at least another season, right?
Oh, and Kenan Thompson. Remember that rumor in the early 2010s that he was leaving? Yeah, this guy's just as much a lifer as Darrell Hammond, no matter how many sitcoms he stars in.
Out?
Who might move on to Hollywood's greener pastures? Kate McKinnon's been rumored to be leaving after her first contract expired in 2019, and that conclusion seems even more so with her anticipated Tiger King adaptation ahead, particularly on the heels of some Deux Mois rumblings. It's hard to imagine Aidy Bryant without McKinnon, and Bryant's recent success with Shrill seems to point to her having a bright future outside of Studio 8H. Meanwhile, Colin Jost said he would mentally start preparing to leave SNL after the election, and it's hard to imagine Michael Che there without him.
And who might get that dreaded call from Lorne that things just aren't working out? Melissa Villaseñor has been sorely lacking in screen time, despite being one of the most talented members of the cast, while Punkie Johnson has yet to resonate during her short stint this season. (Again, 20 cast members.)
Could Go Either Way
As for Beck Bennett, Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney, and Cecily Strong? All four continue to ace each sketch they're in, and an SNL without Bennett and Mooney's absurdist comedy seems like an SNL none of us want to see. Yet, both are going on eight seasons with the series — nothing compared to Strong's nine seasons, which have regularly been plagued with rumors of her leaving. Would they be better off free from the confines of Rockefeller Center?
Davidson, on the other hand, has no plans to leave — but would you really be surprised if he left it all behind to cheer on Jake Paul getting beat up?
Aw, man, any of these 20 could be all outta seasons. But which do you think is most likely to be leaving SNL after this season? Let's talk about it in the comments.
And, also, pour one out for newbies Andrew Dismukes, Lauren Holt, and Punkie Johnson, who appear to have not yet gotten their NBC headshots.
Good eggs deserve better than eggs.