Who’s Going to Leave ‘Saturday Night Live,’ From Mostly Likely to No Way
Now that Season 50 of Saturday Night Live is in the books, fans can turn their full attention to the show’s equivalent of a sports off-season. How is Lorne “I’m Not Leaving” Michaels going to build his roster as SNL begins its second half-century? Predicting who might be added to the show is an impossible task, but guessing who could be a roster cut is a betting game anyone can play.
Here are my odds for the likeliest cast to be looking for work before SNL Season 51…
Devon Walker: -120
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It must have been a bittersweet year for the likable Walker, getting promoted to the repertory cast only to find himself consistently receiving less screentime than any other comic, according to the numbers compiled by SNL statmaster Mike Murray. Like Punkie Johnson last season, Walker’s inability to show up in sketches makes his exit seem inevitable.
Michael Che and Colin Jost: Even Money
The handwriting is on the wall — or at least it’s on Che’s social media walls. He’s been telling Instagram fans and stand-up audiences that he’s done at SNL, while Jost has been speculating about moving on since his 2020 memoir, A Very Punchable Face. You can’t say they haven’t earned their retirement watches. The pair has hosted Weekend Update since 2014, an unprecedented run in the show’s history. Jost got a little emotional Saturday as he and Che launched into what was likely their final joke swap, one more clue that these guys are ready for something new.
Bowen Yang: +120
Yang shot up the betting odds Saturday night when he wept through the goodbyes.
Combine that with an April People interview in which Yang said, “Especially after the 50th, I’m seeing what life after the show is like and how beautiful it is.” The tea leaves are getting impossible to ignore.
Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner: +200
Day and Gardner are solid SNL performers who have stepped back as younger cast find their footing. They’re popular names on “Who is leaving?” speculation lists thanks to their longevity — Day has nine seasons in the book, Gardner has eight. “I will say the only thing that I’ve started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue, or idea fatigue,” Gardner told Craig Ferguson on his Joy podcast. “At this point, after doing Groundlings and SNL for so long, I’m like, ‘I’ve written a lot of sketches.’”
Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline: +350
None of the three rookies broke out this year, although Wickline was never shut out of a show. All three gained momentum as the season progressed, likely earning them another shot at SNL stardom. Padilla and Wickline are long-shot candidates for the Weekend Update desk if Che and Jost actually leave.
Ego Nwodim: +500
Like Day and Gardner, Nwodim is likelier to leave due to her longevity on the show (seven seasons), although she’s becoming one of the show’s leading players. “We like to keep things mysterious around here,” she told Deadline. “That’s part of the allure of SNL, we don’t know what’s going to happen week to week, let alone in the fall, so who knows.”
Michael Longfellow: +550
Longfellow doesn’t get featured much in sketches, but it sure feels like he’s being groomed to take over the Weekend Update desk. His cocky Charles Rocket vibes (not a diss) probably make him a good fit.
Andrew Dismukes and Chloe Fineman: +800
Sketch regulars Dismukes and Fineman are on exceptionally solid ground at SNL. I’d make Fineman the more likely candidate to take a hike, only because her career is percolating with movies like Summer of ‘69 and Megalopolis.
Sarah Sherman and Marcello Hernández: +1,200
Michaels has worked hard to make Sherman and Hernández the faces of the next generation of SNL. They’re not going anywhere, despite Scarlett Johansson’s monologue joke that Sherman was getting the boot.
James Austin Johnson: +2,000
There’s no better SNL job security in 2025 than having a killer Donald Trump impression in your back pocket.
Kenan Thompson: +5,000
Kenan Thompson will never leave.