Saturday Night Live has been able to maintain cultural relevance over five decades thanks to an ever-evolving cast of comedic stars. One such star believes a cast shakeup is coming soon.
Originally known as NBC's Saturday Night, the late-night sketch comedy show has become a genuine institution since debuting in October of 1975. In addition to introducing A-listers like Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, and Tina Fey to the masses, the show has also captured the zeitgeist thanks to films like Wayne's World and The Blues Brothers. While SNL has had ups and downs over the years, it has mostly managed to hit a baseline level of quality and has stayed relevant, while other sketch shows have come and gone in the blink of an eye. What would mainstream American comedy be without names like Adam Sandler, John Belushi, and Kristen Wiig? We have SNL to thank for bringing new names to the forefront of the comedy landscape every few years.
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Saturday Night Live stalwart Kenan Thompson was at the Reel Works 24th Changemakers Gala earlier this week, where he was interviewed by Page Six. According to him, the recent season finale of SNL was "bittersweet" as he is expecting a major cast shakeup during the summer break. "...it feels like there’s maybe, possibly, a lot of change next year," he explained. "You want everyone to stay forever, knowing that people may be making decisions this summer. It’s always like you want your kids to stay young." It's clear Thompson doesn't want to say anything definitive at this point, but he seemingly knows more than a few cast members are on their way out.
“You just never know what the future holds. I don’t want to be in the way of someone else, or I don’t want to be the stale old man riding the same thing. That doesn’t really happen that much at ‘SNL’ but there’s no guarantees, I guess.”
Kenan Thompson Believes Change Is On The Way At Saturday Night Live
At this point in his career, Thompson knows what he is talking about when it comes to Saturday Night Live. Although he'll always be known to a certain generation as the kid from The Mighty Ducks, All That, and Good Burger, Thompson has been on SNL since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's illustrious history. When you spend more than two decades on the same show, you tend to know what you're talking about. When Ellen Pompeo talks about Grey's Anatomy, people take her word as gospel.
As for who could be on the way out, the rumor mill is certainly churning. Two names who have broken out in the past few seasons are Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman, a pair who could be primed for wider success in Hollywood. Michael Che and Colin Jost have been working on the show for more than a decade at this point, meaning they could be moving on to greener pastures as well. The other two longest-tenured cast members (outside of Thompson, Che, and Jost) are Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner. Could either of them move on?
It's unclear who will be moving on from Saturday Night Live during the yearly break, but it is obvious that change is on the table. Time will tell who is on their way out.
Source: Page Six