The show must go on!<\/p>\n
Lorne Michaels<\/strong> opened up about the news that six cast members are departing Saturday Night Live<\/em> ahead of its 51st season in an interview with Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> at the Emmys on Sunday, September 14.<\/p>\n \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 As the National Enquirer<\/em> has reported, Devon Walker<\/strong><\/a>, Emil Wakim<\/strong>, Michael Longfellow<\/strong><\/a>, Heidi Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0and John Higgins<\/strong> will not be returning<\/a>. In a surprise announcement on Friday, September 12, Ego Nwodim<\/strong> 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 \u201cShe was great,\u201d Michaels told ET<\/em> of Nwodim.<\/p>\n So far, the departing stars have been replaced with four new cast members: Tommy Brennan<\/strong>, Jeremy Culhane<\/strong>, Kam Patterson<\/strong>, and Veronika Slowikowska<\/strong>. Please Don\u2019t Destroy\u2019s 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 \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 ET<\/em>. \u201cOur audience has always stayed relatively young, and more so now with TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n Slowikowska, in particular, rose to popularity as a TikToker<\/a>. \u201cThe people we\u2019re bringing in,\u201d Michaels added, \u201cI\u2019m really excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all of the faces will be new. As the\u00a0Enquirer<\/em> previously reported<\/a>, Michael Che<\/strong> and Colin Jost<\/strong> will be back hosting Weekend Update, while Mikey Day<\/strong>, Andrew Dismukes<\/strong>, Chloe Fineman<\/strong>, Marcello Hernandez<\/strong>, James Austin Johnson<\/strong>, Sarah Sherman<\/strong>, Bowen Yang<\/strong>, Ashley Padilla<\/strong> and Jane Wickline<\/strong> will be back, along with longest running cast member of all time, Kenan Thompson<\/strong>, who will be in his 23rd season.<\/p>\n Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u00a0season 51 will premiere on October 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.nationalenquirer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MEGA1116514_002.jpg\")