The “Saturday Night Live” cast departures continue.
Michael Longfellow, 31, who joined the “SNL” cast for season 48 in 2022, will not return for season 51, NJ.com can confirm.
His exit comes as a surprise to fans who thought he might be taking over for one of the Weekend Update hosts. The recurring news segment has been helmed by Colin Jost and Michael Che since 2014.
“Can’t belive we live in the timeline where michael longfellow got fired from snl and isn’t a weekend update host,” one viewer wrote via X after the news broke.
“Its so ironic so michael longfellow screentested for update desk and we all were convinced he was destined for it but no they took him out back and shot him,” another X user quipped.
While Longfellow has not yet addressed the news, two of his castmates announced their own departures earlier this week.
Devon Walker, who joined “SNL” at the same time as Longfellow, hinted at ups and downs on the sketch comedy show in an Instagram post.
“Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell,” Walker wrote. “We made the most of what it is, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f—ed up little family.”
Emil Wakim, who was new to “SNL” during season 50, admitted that not being asked back was a “gut punch.”
“I was at six flags celebrating my friends 36th birthday [when I got the news] and went on a really emotional walk through bugs bunny park and stared out across daffy duck lake thinking about life,” Wakim wrote via Instagram.
READ MORE: How to get ‘SNL’ tickets for season 51
“SNL” creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels teased major cast changes during an interview with Puck News last week. So far, all the confirmed exits have been relative newbies. It remains to be seen whether any longtime cast members — such as Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, and Bowen Yang — will step back ahead of season 51.
Season 51 of “Saturday Night Live” premieres on NBC on Saturday, October 4. Past episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
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