Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, Heidi Gardner and Devon Walker for SNL / NBC
Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, Heidi Gardner and Devon Walker have all left Saturday Night Live ahead of the new season.
The show’s creator Lorne Michaels recently confirmed a cast shakeup for the landmark 51st season and now details of those who have either been let go or decided to leave have started to emerge.
Gardner had been the longest-serving current female member of the ensemble, having been on the cast for eight years, while Longfellow had been on board for three.
“Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL,” he wrote on Instagram. “Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far.
“I feel nothing but gratitude for the experience and everyone there. Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life. You even put my mom on TV. Thank you doesnt begin to cover it, but thank you.”
Wakim, a featured cast member last season, wrote on the platform: “i won’t be returning to snl next year. it was a gut punch of a call to get but i’m so grateful for my time there. i was at six flags celebrating my friends 36th birthday and went on a really emotional walk through bugs bunny park and stared out across daffy duck lake thinking about life.
“every time i scanned into the building i would think how insane it is to get to work there. it was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and i will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home. thank u to lorne for taking a chance on me and changing my life.”
Walker, meanwhile, said after his three-year stint: “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f***ed up lil family.”
News of further possible departures is currently unknown ahead of the new season, which is scheduled to premiere on October 4.
