Lorne Michaels promised big changes ahead of Saturday Night Live‘s 51st season, and the famed producer has certainly delivered — for better or worse.
Several cast members and writers will not be reprising their roles on the iconic sketch show when it returns to NBC in October.
And while some are stepping down on amicable terms, others are delivering parting shots as they’re shown the door.
Trio of relative newcomers depart ‘SNL’ amid season 51 ‘bloodbath’
In the latter category is Devon Walker, who didn’t explicitly state that he was fired from the show after three seasons, but who strongly implied that the decision to part ways was not his to make.
“Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool,” Walker wrote on Instagram this week.
“Sometimes it was toxic as hell,” he continued. “But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction.
Shortly after Walker’s announcement, Emil Wakim also took to Instagram to inform followers that he would be leaving the show after just one season.
“It was a gut punch of a call to get but I’m so grateful for my time there,” he wrote.
The next young star to become a victim of what several outlets have described as a “bloodbath” was Michael Longfellow, who joined the cast alongside Walker in 2022.
Longfellow’s dismissal came as a surprise, as he was widely considered to be the likeliest successor to the Weekend Update desk, a spot that’s been held by Colin Jost and Michael Che since 2014.
But perhaps the most shocking departure is that of SNL vet Heidi Gardner, who spent eight seasons as one of the show’s most reliable performers.
Several outlets report that they’ve reached out to Gardner for comment but have received no reply.
It’s unclear if the decision to part company was Gardner’s or the show’s.
But it’s worth noting that the 42-year-old comic has developed an impressive list of credits in recent years, including a recurring role on the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, which also stars Harrison Ford and Jason Segel.
This week also saw the departures of writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker.
Yim has spent five seasons with the show and was SNL’s first openly trans writer.
In a recent interview, Michaels declined to comment on whether or not there would be additional shakeups, but he did confirm that James Austin Johnson will continue to portray Donald Trump in sketches.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.