Several Major Cast Departures from ‘SNL’ As 47th Season Concludes

The 47th season finale of NBC’s late-night comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” is set for May 21, 2022.

Leading up to that episode (to be hosted by “Russian Doll” star Natasha Lyonne with musical guest Japanese Breakfast) was the news on Friday, May 20 that four cast members will depart the show following the season’s conclusion. They are: Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney; Davidson’s exit was first reported by Variety, the latter three’s departures first reported by Variety’s sister outlet Deadline.

McKinnon is a two-time Emmy Award winner during her “SNL” stint since she joined the cast in 2012. Among her notable celebrity impressions included Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elizabeth Warren, Rudy Giuliani and Lindsey Graham. She had starred in numerous films and TV shows, including the recent scripted “Tiger King” miniseries “Joe Vs. Carole” from Peacock.

Bryant also joined “SNL” in 2012. She famously portrayed political figures Ted Cruz and Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Emmy-nominated three times throughout her career, to date, including her star turn in the Hulu comedy “Shrill”.

Mooney has been with “SNL” since 2013; Davidson since 2014 — both of whom creating some of the show’s recent memorable music video parodies. While Davidson has received some notice with the semi-autobiographical works like the feature film “The King of Staten Island” and his upcoming Peacock series “Bupkis”, his off-screen exploits have garnered much more attention including being the one-time fiancé of pop singer Ariana Grande and his current relationship with Kim Kardashian.

The number of cast departures may not stop at just four. Recently, Variety reported longtime “Weekend Update” co-anchor Michael Che might also leave.

The 2021-22 season of “Saturday Night Live” boasted twenty-one cast members, the largest the series has ever had. Despite airing in late night on a weekend, this year marks the second consecutive season “SNL” will rank as the top entertainment (aka, non-sports) series on all of TV, according to Nielsen Media Research’s adults 18-49 demographic.