Bowen Yang Will Miss Heidi Gardner at ‘SNL’ as Much as We Will

The recent exit of cast members from Saturday Night Live was teased as a “shake-up.” Some have labeled it a “mass exodus” and said that SNL is changing drastically before its next season. That wasn’t really true. People left while others joined the cast, and the number of both was relatively small. The show only lost four cast members (five, if you count Please Don’t Destroy’s John Higgins).

Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, and Heidi Gardner will not be returning this year. Everyone is someone’s favorite cast member, so there are certainly people who are upset about each one of these now former members of the troupe. However, the loss of Heidi Gardner, who starred on the show for eight seasons, was pretty shocking.

There were plenty of people who thought she might be moving on, but it didn’t seem certain. The surprise comes from the fact that Gardner was the only one to leave who had a lengthy tenure on the show. It also doesn’t help that, apparently, it wasn’t her decision. That’s maddening if true. Still, here we are on the other side. Nothing will change, but we can still give her her flowers.

That’s what Bowen Yang did in a recent episode of his podcast Las Culturistas. Yang referred to Gardner as an “anchor” for the show, saying of his former co-star, “You are one of the greats. You will go down in history.” What’s even more special about Yang’s comments is that he highlights Gardner’s skills as a sketch writer, particularly in developing material for others.

“It’s always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it,” Yang explained. “But anytime you saw just ‘Gardner,’ you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast.” I love that so much. The halls of SNL are often described as competitive, so hearing that Gardner went out of her way to help others makes her more of a gem.

Yang specifically brought up how Gardner once wrote a segment for Punkie Johnson, saying it “was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures I’ve ever seen at that show, and her heart was so big, and clearly so f***ing funny.” Yang definitely shouted out Longfellow, Walker, and Wakim, but noted how he and Gardner are good friends who text often (and shared adjoining dressing rooms), so I’m sure it hurts a bit more.

Heidi Gardner will be missed, and I don’t think Yang exaggerated at all in his praise. Gardner was a special cast member who made the most of her time on the show. It being cut short is a real shame. She’ll bounce back and keep getting work, but she will be missed in Studio 8H by the people who work there and the people who watch.