The Five 'SNL' Cast Members Most Likely Not To Return for Season 51

While Bowen Yang has said he’ll eventually leave Saturday Night Live, I seriously doubt that’ll happen at the end of this season. Yang and Marcello Hernandez might be the closest thing SNL has to breakout stars right now, and I don’t see him walking away just yet for a film and television career.

That said, a few cast members could be exiting after the show’s 50th season, though I don’t think the shake-up will be nearly as extreme as some are predicting. I’d guess four, maybe five, cast members will leave (and in at least one case, it may be Lorne Michaels making the call).

The most likely to go? Colin Jost and Michael Che, who’ve been threatening to quit for several seasons now. Che has even renewed his annual “I’m done” ritual multiple times this past year. This time, I think he means it. He and Jost have anchored “Weekend Update” for over a decade, making them the longest-tenured team in its history, and while I’m not sure the show knows how to function without them, it’s time. There’s no obvious replacement among the current cast, though I could see Michael Longfellow and Jane Wickline bringing a cool, Tim Burton energy to the desk. Nevertheless, the show needs to move on from the brand of comedy that’s defined “Update” for the last ten years, even if it has mostly grown on me.

As for the regular cast, I don’t think Kenan Thompson is going anywhere — he’ll stay as long as he’s allowed. But the two other senior cast members, Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner, seem likely to depart. Day’s great, and he nails that essential “average white guy doofus” energy that SNL leans on heavily — previously filled by Beck Bennett and Alex Moffat — but with Andrew Dismukes firmly in place, the show can afford to let Day go. It’s time for him to embrace his destiny as the fifth lead in a Netflix comedy and to rack up a lifetime’s worth of voiceover gigs.

Similarly, I thought Heidi Gardner might finally break out in a big way after Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Aidy Bryant left. It didn’t quite happen. She’s always solid, but this season, she didn’t take over like Ego Nwodim, who’s clearly at the top of her game. Gardner’s the one exit that’ll actually sting, but she’ll land on her feet, likely in the same lane as Day: voice work, mid-budget streaming comedies, and scene-stealing supporting roles.

The one obvious cut seems to be Devon Walker, a likable third-year cast member who just never quite found his place on the show. Fortunately, he already has a fallback: A podcast.

I do think (and hope) that all three featured players (Jane Wickline, Emil Wakim, and Ashley Padilla) will be back next season.