‘Saturday Night Live’ Stars Who Could Leave — & Who Could Replace Them
Season 51 of Saturday Night Live was, overall, a broadcast success. According to Deadline, the season was the second-most watched broadcast comedy, and Season 51’s viewership was up compared to both Seasons 48 and 49. Now, eyes look toward Season 52, which should premiere in the fall around late September or early October, to see if SNL can keep the momentum (and the jokes, of course) going.
Every new season of SNL brings with it new changes to the cast. This past season, six cast members were either let go or left on their own, and five comedians joined as featured performers. With some time before the new slate of departures and cast members is announced, we can speculate about who we think might be bowing soon — as well as who we hope to see shine in Studio 8H.
Leave: Chloe Fineman
Chloe Fineman‘s Season 51 screentime had some ups and downs. While she had 11 minutes on camera in Glen Powell‘s episode, she was completely shut out when Connor Storrie hosted, per statistics compiled by the Saturday Night Network. After officially parting ways with the show on July 16, she can now set her sights on her growing film career, especially as her film roles rack up in the upcoming movies Love Language, The Dink, and Red, White & Royal Wedding.
Leave: Lorne Michaels
It seems like every year, gossip resurfaces about Lorne Michaels finally retiring and naming a successor to take over SNL. The talk isn’t for nothing: Michaels is 81, and he’ll have to surrender the reins eventually. While many speculated that the Season 51 Will Ferrell/Paul McCartney episode secretly doubled as a sendoff for Michaels, especially with the former Beatle performing five songs (during the episode, “Days We Left Behind,” “Band on the Run,” and “Coming Up”; and post-credits performances of “Help!” and “Drive My Car”), neither Michaels nor NBC has made a formal statement regarding his departure from the show.
Leave: Michael Che
Michael Che has often joked about leaving SNL, but there’s a chance that soon, leaving won’t be a joke anymore. His “Weekend Update” co-star Colin Jost has cameoed in sketches and played Pete Hegseth in monologues, but a Che appearance outside of “Update” is rare. This reduced presence on the show raises the possibility of his tenure as the second-longest “Update” anchor is nearing its end, which raises the question of who could replace him behind the desk.
Leave: Tommy Brennan
The featured players’ roster for season 51 has been unusually stacked. Outside of two modified stand-up sets on “Update,” Tommy Brennan has been otherwise treated as a bit player, relegated to a few lines in each sketch to fill out the background. Hopefully, if he returns for another season, he’ll be able to show his comedic chops more, but unless he’s willing to get weird, he might suffer the fate of many a stand-up comedian in the cast and get his tenure prematurely ended.
Join: Vic Michaelis
First with writer Carl Tart, and now with featured player Jeremy Culhane, you could argue a Dropout-to-SNL pipeline is beginning to be constructed. It makes sense — SNL has always looked for up-and-coming comedians, and Dropout is one of the biggest up-and-coming streaming services, bringing new comedic voices to the mainstream. Should SNL want to scoop up Dropout talent, Vic Michaelis, host of the improv show Very Important People, feels like the best contender. Performers with a strong improvisational background tend to do especially well on SNL, able to roll with the punches of a live format, and Michaelis’ offbeat humor would pair well with the absurdity of “Weekend Update” and the show’s “after-Update” sketches.
Join: Anania Williams
Internet personality Anania is no stranger to the spotlight. Currently a swing performer on Broadway’s The Rocky Horror Show, she’s also built up an online TikTok presence, both on her own account and as the host of the show Gaydar, where she asks guests like actor-singer Renee Rapp, mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, and singer Chappell Roan questions to determine if they are “straight, gay, or a homophobe.” If she joined the SNL cast, she’d certainly bring her charisma, along with uniqueness, nerve, and, of course, talent.
Join: Charles Hsu
Charles Hsu does comedy sketches on Instagram and TikTok, which often feature impressions of common TV, movie, and theater tropes. This experience makes him a versatile comedic actor who can play any kind of character, a very beneficial skill in the SNL world. If you’re worried about whether this TikTok experience will translate to the stage, don’t be. Hsu graduated from Tisch School of Arts, performed on Off-Broadway, and has experience in New York’s comedy scene. In April, he attended the red carpet for Focus Features’ documentary Lorne, which might have landed him on Lorne’s radar.
Join: Grace Reiter
It’s also no secret that SNL has been trying to covet a Gen Z audience. Soon after a star gets popular with the youth, they find themselves on SNL, such as with Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storrie hosting or Grammy nominee Olivia Dean performing this past season. Grace Reiter has made a name for herself as a standout performer from American High Shorts, a TikTok account with over 2 million followers, and for her solo work “The Hunger Games (but better)”, a parody of the 2012 dystopian film that currently has 12 million views on YouTube. With other internet comedians like Veronika Slowikowska proving digital comedic talent can shine on SNL, if Reiter joins, she would not only succeed, but her audience would bring more Gen Z eyes to the show.
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C
Ashley Padilla is overdue to be included in the main cast, that's the first thing that needs to happen.
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A
They do a mandatory two years as a featured player, and she just finished her second year. She'll likely be promoted in the new season.
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