Big Changes Are Coming To SNL Season 51

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The oft-shady Lorne Michaels certainly wasn't joking when he promised a "significant shake-up" for the comic institution he has presided over for more than half a century. With "Saturday Night Live" returning in October 2025, the main cast has experienced a number of notable changes, with four regulars exiting (not to mention two behind-the-scenes figures as well) and five newbies stepping in within the space of a week.

Michaels had responded in the affirmative when asked by Puck News whether he felt the "pressure to reinvent this season," with the recent controversial cancellation of Stephen Colbert's long-running CBS show and the precarious future of late-night television in general no doubt firmly at the back of his mind. So which featured players have clocked in at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for the last time? And which relative unknowns are about to become household names? Here's the lowdown on the already eventful 51st season.

The "Saturday Night Live" exodus of S51 began in August 2025 when Devon Walker shared a text message on Instagram, which simply read, "I'm out" alongside a partying emoji. Luckily, the funnyman, who'd joined the show three years earlier, quickly expanded on the news. And he also revealed that his time on the comedic institution wasn't always a laughing matter.

"To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages," Walker explained in a slightly philosophical manner. "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." The Washington native, whose resume also includes sitcom "Everything's Trash" and Netflix animation "Big Mouth," then put the cat among the pigeons by describing his stint as both "really cool" and "toxic as hell."

Five days later, Walker continued the relationship metaphor in an interview with Rolling Stone, claiming that it was simply the time for him and "SNL" to go their separate ways. "There's been a lot of life stuff that I feel like I've had to miss out on," he acknowledged. "... I think that me and the show are both ready to turn the page." As for his next chapter, the psychology graduate has announced plans to land a role in a prestige drama, ideally with Academy Award winner Julianne Moore.

Emil Wakim was the next cast member to officially confirm his departure from "Saturday Night Live" two days later. And like Walker, the institution's first featured player of Lebanese heritage was more than happy to share his feelings on the matter.

"It was a gut punch of a call to get, but I'm so grateful for my time there," Wakim explained on Instagram about the moment he heard that he wouldn't be returning. The Indiana University graduate, who was celebrating a pal's 36th birthday at Six Flags theme at the time, expressed how lucky he'd felt to have spent even just a single year on the iconic show.

"Every time I scanned into the building I would think how insane it is to get to work there," Wakim wrote. "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." The Chicago native, who first caught attention as a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs festival, thanked one man in particular, head honcho Lorne Michaels, for completely changing the course of his life.

The "Saturday Night Live" clearout continued a day later when Michael Longfellow took to Instagram to announce that his time on the long-running show had come to an end. And despite clearly expressing his disappointment, the Phoenix native was still magnanimous in defeat.

"I feel nothing but gratitude for the experience and everyone there," Longfellow stated about his three-year spell on Instagram. "Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life. You even put my mom on TV. Thank you doesn't begin to cover it, but thank you." The English Literature graduate, who rose to fame on the NBC talent show co-hosted by fellow SNLer Kenan Thompson, "Bring The Funny," claimed that the thing he'd miss the most was seeing the friends he'd made on an everyday basis. 

Longfellow, who also uploaded a series of snaps from his stint, concluded his post in a suitably comedic manner: "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 won't."

Of course, the most shocking departure from "Saturday Night Live" was undoubtedly Heidi Gardner, the funnywoman who'd been a key featured player since 2017. And judging by the lack of a public response, the news appears to have stunned her into silence, too.

Yes, unlike her fellow axed colleagues Longfellow, Wakim, and Walker, Gardner — whose husband has his own claim to fame — has yet to hit Instagram or any other platform to discuss her feelings on the matter. And NBC has kept quiet, too, about the surprise exit of a comedian considered to be one of the institution's most popular.

Previously voted by her school as most likely to be a cast member of "Saturday Night Live," the Kansas native had regularly stolen the show with characters such as teen film critic Bailey Gismert, Angel, Every Boxer's Girlfriend in Every Boxing Movie, and newswoman Bobbi Moore, making headlines in 2024 for the latter after breaking in a Beavis and Butt-Head sketch also featuring host Ryan Gosling: she later admitted to fears of getting fired following the latter. Still, Gardner can take heart from the fact that she'd already nabbed several other roles during her eight-year stint, appearing in movies "Trust Fall," "Hustle," and "Life of the Party" as well as TV series "Superstore," "You," and "Shrinking."

The "Saturday Night Live" shakeup wasn't just confined to the talent in front of the camera. On the same day that Walker was revealed as the first cast member not returning for season 51, writer Rosebud Baker also confirmed her time on the comedic institution had come to an end.

Indeed, speaking to "Saturday Night Network" podcast host Jon Schneider, Baker revealed that after three years on the series, she was leaving for new pastures. The multi-talent, who helped to pen HBO Max sketch show "That Damn Michael Che," joined S47 halfway through its run and was eventually promoted to the writing team of Weekend Update. "It's like training yourself to be a sociopath or a psychopath," she quipped on Dana Carvey and David Spade's "Fly on the Wall." "Because you just read these horrible, horrific headlines and you're like, what's funny — hilarious — about this?"

Of course, Baker has also enjoyed success taking center stage. She's had specials on both Comedy Central ("Whiskey Fists") and Netflix ("The Mother Lode"), played Meri in the Amy Schumer-starring sitcom "Life and Beth," and showcased her dramatic acting skills in the 2016 mystery thriller "Turnabout."

Baker was followed that very same day by the  ever openly trans and nonbinary writer on "Saturday Night Live." Celeste Yim made history when they landed a staff writer gig in 2022, and thanks to memorable sketches such as the It Gets Better parody and L'Eggs skit, they graduated to the position of writing supervisor three years later.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Yim explained that it was their decision to say goodbye to the show. Indeed, although they expressed gratitude to Lorne Michaels for giving them such a coveted opportunity at the age of just 23, they recognized the toll it had taken. "... It was also grueling and I slept in my office every week BUT my friends helped me with everything BUT I got yelled at by random famous men BUT some famous girls too BUT I loved it and I laughed every day and it's where I grew up."

Yim also thanked the cast and crew, and friends and family who'd supported them during their five-year-stint, singling out cast member Bowen Yang for making them "feel normal." They also expressed pride at how she'd extended the queer legacy of the show and insisted that they wouldn't stop fighting for the cause. "I feel so powerless to protect trans people in the world but writing connects us and makes us permanent, so it's what I will continue to do," they wrote.

Following the bloodbath that saw four cast members and two writers depart within the space of four days, "Saturday Night Live" finally announced some happier news in September 2025: five new players. And Tommy Brennan, who was crowned the New Face of Comedy by the Just For Laughs festival two years earlier, was one of the lucky individuals given the nod.

Before hitting the stand-up circuit, Brennan studied accounting at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and later took jobs at Cameo and LinkedIn while trying to make it in the fickle world of show business. He went on to appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and provide support for the likes of Louie Anderson, Taylor Tomlinson, and Nikki Glaser before achieving his big break.

And fellow St. Paul's native Bob Galligan, a man who's witnessed Brennan's rise to fame from a young age, told Twin Cities that he's not surprised by his success: "He's weaved it through his bits, but you don't come out of an Irish Catholic family of nearly all sisters without becoming a comedian. He does the nearly impossible and makes Catholic Guilt funny." Galligan also recalled seeing the star take top billing in a school production of "The Little Prince" and instantly recognizing his potential. "I'm ecstatic for the world to get to know the Prince I've watched grow up," he added.

Another new "Saturday Night Live" recruit also hedged his bets while pursuing a career in the funny business. Jeremy Culhane studied Economics and Philosophy at Texas Christian University during his early years on the scene, which included stints with the Student Filmmakers' Assocation and campus improv group Senseless Acts of Comedy.

Only time will tell whether Culhane becomes one of the great "Saturday Night Live" thinkers. But we do already know that he's something of a multi-talent, having also acted in the short-lived reboot of '80s classic "Heathers," Mindy Kaling's sitcom "The Sex Lives of College Girls," and Netflix mockumentary "American Vandal," not to mention building a strong online presence with various viral videos and appearances on comedy platform Dropout. "I find the best characters are a shade of yourself that you can lean into," he told Business Insider about his approach. 

His old film professor couldn't be prouder that Culhane's profile is about to skyrocket. "When Jeremy stepped on stage, his comic timing, hilarious characterizations, and quick-minded wit left SAC audiences in stitches every Thursday night," Richard Allen remarked in an Instagram post. "TCU and SAC are going to be bragging about this alum for a long, long time."

Kam Patterson should perhaps thank his elementary school teacher for helping forge his path to "Saturday Night Live." While in second grade, the Orlando native was given an unusual incentive to complete his schoolwork: he was allowed to tell jokes to the rest of his classmates.

While he was later sidetracked by everything from Foot Locker jobs to firefighting aspirations, Patterson eventually started playing in front of paid audiences in 2021 and a year later became a regular of the hugely successful podcast "Kill Tony," going on to perform at its Madison Square Garden show and its "Killers of Kill Tony" tour. "I truly believe this is the future," host Tony Hinchcliffe once remarked (via Late Nighter) about the man he also dubbed a "phenom."

Patterson's family is just as supportive of his comedy career. "My dad told me, 'Well, if you gonna do it, you gotta do all you can and keep going and don't stop,'" the funnyman told Orlando Weekly. You'll also soon be able to see Patterson make his acting debut and alongside several of his new "SNL" castmates, too. The funnyman joined Ben Marshall and Marcello Hernandez in "72 Hours," a Netflix original in which a wild bachelor party invites Kevin Hart's middle-aged businessman into their hedonistic fold.

"Dream come true. See you Saturdays." That's the simple way comedian Veronika Slowikowska responded on Instagram to the news that she'd be the sole new female talent joining the 51st season cast of "Saturday Night Live."

The Ontario native has, of course, been a little more verbose during the various TikTok sketches that have regularly sent her viral over the years. She now has nearly 700,000 followers to her name, with a skit involving her walking a mile in her male roommate's shoes accruing views of over eight million! Slowikowska has also pursued a more conventional route to stardom. 

Since graduating from the Canadian Film Centre's Actors Conservatory, she's landed recurring roles in Netflix sitcom "Tires," Amazon sci-fi "Davey and Jonesie's Locker," and FX mockumentary "What We Do In the Shadows," graced young adult film "I Like Movies" and festive rom-com "EXmas," and recently guested on an episode of "Poker Face". If that wasn't enough, Slowikowska has also been a member of comedy troupe My Chemical Bromance, and in 2020, turned aspiring pop star with debut single "Homesick." In an interview with Vulture, the multi-talent revealed ambitions to replicate the career of an all-time "SNL" legend, Adam Sandler: "Doing a bit of everything and doing it with your friends and family seems awesome to me!"

Unlike the rest of his fellow new featured players, Ben Marshall already has plenty of "Saturday Night Live" experience under his belt. In 2021, he was taken on as a writer alongside his troupe partners John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, aka Please Don't Destroy. And who can forget the Three Sad Virgins sketch where Taylor Swift described him as a "sad Ron Weasley" just a year later.

Before joining the world's best-known comedy show, Marshall attended the NYU Tisch School of Arts, where he immersed himself in the world of comedy, showcasing his talents in both stand-up outfit Astor Place Riots and sketch group Hammerkatz. He's since graced the big screen in the Please Don't Destroy feature film "The Treasure of Foggy Mountain," guested on "Poker Face," and written for Miley Cyrus' New Year's Eve specials.

In a 2023 interview with Esquire, Marshall explained how the more experience he's had, the more comfortable he is with bringing the funny: "When you start doing comedy, you have all these weird rules in your head where you decide you can or can't do certain things because they're not cool, or smart, or funny. But as you become more comfortable with yourself over time, those things just fade away. Like, our first show was just 10-15 minutes of medieval music playing with John on stage in a cow costume and Martin milking him."

So what will happen to Please Don't Destroy now that Marshall has becoe featured player? Well, fans of the troupe, who have invited everyone from Dakota Johnson to Rami Malek to join in with their digital shorts on "Saturday Night Live," will be disappointed to hear that they're no longer going to be a presence on the show. However, this isn't the end of their story.

Indeed, the surrealists, who formed in 2017 while studying at New York University, are still very much together. In fact, they were on tour when the news of all the changes broke, and Marshall quickly took to Instagram to set the record straight. "I love these boys so much," he captioned a series of group photos. "I couldn't be more grateful to have gotten into this business with my two best friends."

"Getting to write for SNL together and make our own videos for the show was beyond our wildest dreams — and I'm so proud of everything we've made so far," added Marshall, who isn't the only Please Don't Destroy member to stay on. Indeed, while John Higgins has waved goodbye to the comic institution for good, Martin Herlihy has retained his position as writer.