Saturday Night time Dwell‘s solid has been scaling down this week forward of Season 51, with the departures of three of the newer actors in addition to one author. After boss Lorne Michaels’ feedback, I used to be resigned to extra cuts occurring earlier than SNL returns this fall within the 2025 TV schedule, however I wasn’t anticipating someone with as many seasons behind her as Heidi Gardner to exit after Season 50.
Heidi Gardner is leaving SNL after she accomplished her eighth season, in accordance with Selection, which saved her on board the solid by way of the milestone Season 50 celebrations. This makes hers the largest SNL exit of summer time hiatus up to now. All eight of her seasons could be revisited with a Peacock subscription now.
Devon Walker was the primary lower this week after three seasons on SNL, and he would body it as “excellent news” and time for him to “do one thing totally different.” Emil Wakim, who introduced a novel Center Jap perspective to the present, is out after one season. Michael Longfellow can be leaving after three seasons, to the dismay of followers. Plus, “Weekend Replace” author Rosebud Baker revealed her exit as nicely.
However Heidi Gardner? For those who’d requested me previous to the information on August 28, I might have listed her near Kenan Thompson amongst solid members unlikely to however lower forward of Season 51. That mentioned, there’s a potential silver lining. Whereas the comic has not but commented on the stories on the time of writing, her exit may need been solely voluntary not like the opposite three solid members who will not be again.
Talking with Craig Ferguson on his Pleasure podcast again in February, Heidi Gardner shared that she nonetheless loved her work on the present eight seasons in, and she or he could not “actually think about a world the place I am gonna get to do that to this diploma once more” as a result of she loves enjoying characters. That mentioned, she additionally sounded a bit weary of the SNL grind, telling Ferguson:
I’ll say the one factor that I’ve began to really feel a little bit bit is simply sketch fatigue, or thought fatigue, in the way in which that at this level after doing Groundlings and SNL for therefore lengthy, I am like, ‘I’ve written a variety of sketches!’ [laughs] You simply get scared and it does occur some weeks the place I am like, ‘I wouldn’t have an thought for a sketch, a recreation, or a personality.’ Fortunately we now have wonderful writers on the present that can be like, ‘I’ve an thought for you.’ That is the one factor that has gotten a little bit robust.
Gardner has additionally branched out from sketch comedy in recent times, together with voice performing on tasks like Good Instances, Leo, and Sure We Hashish, in addition to live-action appearances in You (out there streaming now with a Netflix subscription) and Shrinking (streaming now with an Apple TV+ subscription). Contemplating her longevity at SNL, her background with The Groundlings, and her varied work outdoors of dwell sketch comedy, she appears more than likely to have chosen to depart the NBC hit in distinction to her three former castmates who had been lower this week.
Hopefully Gardner will communicate out about her exit from Saturday Night time Dwell sooner slightly than later, and ideally give some trace of what she plans to do subsequent in her profession. Per Deadline, she had been in talks to star in a pilot for NBC, though nothing appears to have come from that at this level, and Kenan Thompson branching out from SNL for a sitcom did not work long-term. For now, we are able to solely look ahead to information from Gardner in addition to to study if extra SNL solid departures are on the way in which forward of Season 51.