SNL Season 51 Cast: Who's New, Who's Returning And Who's Departing
Live from New York, it's... the 18 repertory and featured players making up the Season 51 cast of Saturday Night Live.
Six weeks out from the NBC sketch series' Oct. 4 premiere, showrunner Lorne Michaels told Puck News' Matt Belloni that, after keeping the cast stable for the milestone 50th season, change was finally coming.
Asked if he now felt pressure to "shake things up," Michaels replied: "Yes." With the 50th anniversary behind them, it was time to reinvent the cast.
At the time, Michaels only confirmed that James Austin Johnson, heading into his third season as a repertory player (and fifth season overall), would continue to impersonate President Donald Trump this fall. That left the fate of 16 cast members up in the air — 19, if you counted Please Don't Destroy.
The week of Aug. 24, it was reported that Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim would not return for Season 51.
The week of Aug. 31, SNL added five new featured players — including PDD's Ben Marshall.
Then on Sept. 7, Deadline reported that the rest of the ensemble would be back. However, on Sept. 12, Ego Nwodim announced her decision to leave the show after seven seasons.
What follows is a list of every Season 50 cast member, ordered by longevity, along with their Season 51 status. We've also included photos of every new featured player. Review them all, then leave a comment with your thoughts on the "new" ensemble.
Ashley Padilla
One season (joined in Season 50)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Jane Wickline
One season (joined in Season 50)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Marcello Hernandez
Three seasons (joined in Season 48)
Status: Returning for Season 51
James Austin Johnson
Four seasons (joined in Season 47)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Sarah Sherman
Four seasons (joined in Season 47)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Andrew Dismukes
Five seasons (joined in Season 46)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Bowen Yang
Six seasons (joined in Season 45)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Chloe Fineman
Six seasons (joined in Season 45)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Mikey Day
Nine seasons (joined in Season 42)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Michael Che
Eleven seasons (joined in Season 40)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Colin Jost
Twelve seasons (joined in Season 39)
Status: Returning for Season 51
Kenan Thompson
Twenty-two seasons (joined in Season 29)
Status: Returning for Season 51
