{"id":2023971,"date":"2025-09-15T16:06:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2023971"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:06:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:06:40","slug":"lorne-michaels-addresses-snl-season-51-cast-shakeup-change-is-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lorne-michaels-addresses-snl-season-51-cast-shakeup-change-is-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Lorne Michaels Addresses \u2018SNL\u2019 Season 51 Cast Shakeup: \u2018Change Is Good\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The show must go on!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Lorne Michaels<\/strong> opened up about the news that six cast members are departing <em>Saturday Night Live<\/em> ahead of its 51st season in an interview with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FN0hpNGD2_s\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment Tonight;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> at the Emmys on Sunday, September 14.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt\u2019s always hard when people leave, but there\u2019s a time for that,\u201d the show\u2019s creator, 80, said. \u201cChange is good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As the <em>National Enquirer<\/em> has reported, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/saturday-night-live-star-devon-165630558.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Devon Walker;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><strong>Devon Walker<\/strong><\/a>, <strong>Emil Wakim<\/strong>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/michael-longfellow-details-brutal-snl-190434798.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Michael Longfellow;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><strong>Michael Longfellow<\/strong><\/a>, <strong>Heidi Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0and <strong>John Higgins<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/heidi-gardner-4th-snl-cast-164606426.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:will not be returning;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">will not be returning<\/a>. In a surprise announcement on Friday, September 12,<strong> Ego Nwodim<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/ego-nwodim-announces-departure-snl-171748800.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:announced;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">announced<\/a> in an Instagram post that she had decided to leave as well, adding that she was \u201cimmensely grateful\u201d to Michaels \u201cfor the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p> <span class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric Kowalsky \/ MEGA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cShe was great,\u201d Michaels told <em>ET<\/em> of Nwodim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">So far, the departing stars have been replaced with four new cast members: <strong>Tommy Brennan<\/strong>, <strong>Jeremy Culhane<\/strong>, <strong>Kam Patterson<\/strong>, and <strong>Veronika Slowikowska<\/strong>. Please Don\u2019t Destroy\u2019s<strong> Ben Marshall<\/strong>, who joined the series as a writer for their digital videos in 2021, has also been promoted to the main cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe show has always brought people from different ages and different generations and it\u2019s how it revives itself,\u201d Michaels, who took home the Emmy for Best Variety Special, told <em>ET<\/em>. \u201cOur audience has always stayed relatively young, and more so now with TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Slowikowska, in particular, rose to popularity as a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@veronika_iscool?lang=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TikToker;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">TikToker<\/a>. \u201cThe people we\u2019re bringing in,\u201d Michaels added, \u201cI\u2019m really excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Not all of the faces will be new. As the<em>\u00a0Enquirer<\/em> previously <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/snl-season-51-cast-reportedly-184958007.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:reported;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">reported<\/a>, <strong>Michael Che<\/strong> and <strong>Colin Jost<\/strong> will be back hosting Weekend Update, while <strong>Mikey Day<\/strong>, <strong>Andrew Dismukes<\/strong>, <strong>Chloe Fineman<\/strong>, <strong>Marcello Hernandez<\/strong>, <strong>James Austin Johnson<\/strong>, <strong>Sarah Sherman<\/strong>, <strong>Bowen Yang<\/strong>, <strong>Ashley Padilla<\/strong> and <strong>Jane Wickline<\/strong> will be back, along with longest running cast member of all time, <strong>Kenan Thompson<\/strong>, who will be in his 23rd season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u00a0season 51 will premiere on October 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The show must go on! Lorne Michaels opened up about the news that six cast members are departing Saturday Night Live ahead of its 51st season in an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the Emmys on Sunday, September 14. \u201cIt\u2019s always hard when people leave, but there\u2019s a time for that,\u201d the show\u2019s creator, 80, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2023972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[312076,355876,352942,334835,356052,345978,360806,305353,352944,348658,360670],"class_list":["post-2023971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-cast-member","tag-cast-members","tag-devon-walker","tag-ego-nwodim","tag-emil-wakim","tag-entertainment-tonight","tag-john-higgins","tag-lorne-michaels","tag-michael-longfellow","tag-the-national-enquirer","tag-veronika-slowikowska"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Lorne-Michaels-Addresses-\u2018SNL-Season-51-Cast-Shakeup-\u2018Change-Is.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2023972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}