r/LiveFromNewYork Sep 01 '22

SNL: Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat Among 3 More Cast Members Out Ahead of Season 48 Cast News

https://tvline.com/lists/snl-melissa-villasenor-leaving-alex-moffat-season-48/
2.8k Upvotes

709 comments sorted by

842

u/metastar13 Sep 01 '22

I'm definitely surprised to see Alex go, he was a little in the background the past year but has been a fairly consistent presence his whole tenure.

Melissa has seemed to be hinting at leaving for a while now, so no surprise there, I hope she's able to find more success off the show. She had her moments and clearly is talented.

Aristotle, started off hot, and then kind of disappeared. I did think he'd get at least one more season, but who knows what goes into these decisions.

A lot of change after a few years of a giant cast. Interesting that Cecily decided to stay on.

660

u/yumyumapollo Sep 01 '22

Cecily doesn't surprise me. She gets a full season of being the undisputed female veteran of the cast, set a record or two, then get a farewell all to herself.

338

u/Fugitivebush Sep 01 '22

She is clearly gonna be the David Spade to ease the newbies in and be the glue. (Yes, I know Kenan is still here, but at this point, he is a light fixture. Mfer aint ever gonna leave. He's not cast or glue. He's the muthafuckin rafters!)

209

u/5udrive Sep 01 '22

Part of the ship, part of the crew

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u/[deleted] Sep 02 '22

I think at this point Kenan is in his own personal Twilight Zone scenario, cursed to wander the halls of 30 Rock until the inevitable heat death of the universe

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u/Fugitivebush Sep 02 '22

Kenan's last sketch idea???

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u/Rocketsponge Sep 02 '22

It is the 4,172,098,121st season of SNL. Kenan sits atop 30 Rock, an actual planetoid that is all that remains of Old Earth. The last pitiful star, barely a guttering candle in the darkness, is about to go out. Kenan stares at it, wondering if the end will finally come. An end Lorne long ago denied him.

Suddenly, a rhythmic drum and high hat starts. There's a microphone in his hand. The lyrics come unbidden. "Oooow eee owww, What's Up With That?" A single tear, the first Kenan has shed in millions of years, rolls down his cheek.

The last star flickers out with a sigh. All is still. All is dark.

Suddenly, a bright burst appears, a rent of brilliant light of every spectrum bursting through a hole in reality. A figure appears, stepping through with a guitar slung across his chest. Kenan smiles. Of course it would be him, here at the end. Here at the beginning.

"Introducing my special guest, Lindsay Buckingham..."

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u/RicGhastly Sep 02 '22

Saturday Night

July 4th Ball

1921

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u/joelmole79 Sep 02 '22

He wants to audition for Lorne’s job.

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u/DustBunnicula Sep 02 '22

I’m fairly certain he’s already got it. I think Lorne has been prepping him for the role, over the last several years. I think he’d be great in that sort of work. I think a lot of people on this sub underestimate him and pigeonhole him as solely being a cast member.

8

u/coffeeordeath85 Sep 02 '22

It makes sense Keenan's been doing sketch comedy since he was a kid.

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u/scamper_pants Sep 02 '22

He's a load-bearing Kenan

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u/metastar13 Sep 01 '22

Yeah I agree, I’m interested in the decision for exactly those reasons. She certainly deserves a year or two to be the “big” name of the show.

28

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

[deleted]

52

u/SomeCalcium Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

I'm fairly happy that Cecily is the last one standing. She's the most versatile of the three (Aidy, Kate, Cecily). I feel like she's only gotten better with time. It's also nice that there's at least one veteran member still sticking around for at least another season.

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u/Hope_That_Halps_ Sep 01 '22

Cecily is pretty unique, I think Ego is the only other woman cast member who commands attention the same way, and she does so very differently, too.

Melissa, Sarah and Heidi all cover mostly the same ground, if you're casting a sketch, I hate to say Sarah and Heidi have the edge as being "generic white lady" because obviously they're white, but that's a lot of talent overlap on the 'team'.

174

u/MaliciousMe87 Sep 01 '22

Can I just say Ego is *amazing*! She commands the sketches so well, and totally dials it back when it's not about her.

85

u/JDDJS Sep 01 '22

Ego was a cast member that I didn't think much of when she first got on, but in the last few seasons she has become one of my favorite cast members.

39

u/Pleasant_Willingness Sep 01 '22

She’s consistently my favorite guest on “Comedy Bang Bang” so it’s been great seeing her growing in her role at SNL

12

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '22

She kills it on CBB and her teachers lounge appearances are chefs kiss I was so excited when she made it on the show and the fact that she’s excelling at it makes me so happy.

10

u/komododave17 Sep 02 '22

I find her immensely more funny and entertaining on CBB. Her constant antagonism of Scott is hilarious. Entree PeE Nuer’s shape based inventions forever.

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u/Hope_That_Halps_ Sep 01 '22

She really something else, I think she has the charisma and presence of Kate or Kristen, without being annoying over overbearing as they had become before leaving the show. I've already seen Ego in a commercial for Comcast, but I think she has a lot more ahead of her. Skits like Edith Puthy are really popular, and WU bits like "black woman who's been missing for a ten years" are pretty powerful, also that bit with Dion Warwick was a highlight of the season. I think she's still extremely understated and underrated, hopefully not for long.

17

u/Michael_G_Bordin Sep 01 '22

I'm so glad for the departures, as finally Ego will have more breathing room. And she, Heidi, Bowen, and even a few others all seem to really get along with eachother, which is the sort of stuff that makes for really great sketches.

Last season was probably my favorite in the last 7 years, despite the now-completed departure of the Good Neighbor lads. Sarah Sherman lights my day up with her unhinged energy, they've been getting weirder and more absurd/surrealist the last few seasons, Andrew Dismukes just came out of nowhere with excellent timing and delivery, JAJ's crushing it. I'm excited to see where the show goes, even if I don't get any more of the Kyle Mooney cringe humor I originally started watching SNL for. Came for Kyle Mooney, staying because SNL does not suck right now.

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u/Easy_Printthrowaway Sep 01 '22

Idk if this is fair. I think sarah tried VERY hard last year to show she could both be a team player and also portray her unique brand of comedy. Sarah could probably portray a nervous stammering Heidi character (not as well ofc) but could Heidi too a gross out, prop driven sarah character? Idk. I love both, not hating.

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u/BalonyDanza Sep 01 '22

Aristotle started off hot because he brought two decent characters with him that, I'm guessing, he's been leaning on for years. As soon as he burned through Laughingtosh and Angelo, he just seemed donezo. If you can't pump out new content at a rapid clip, or be such a vibrant performer that you're able to turn any role into something funny... you're just not going to survive at SNL.

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u/chris622 Sep 01 '22

Aside from those two characters, I don't remember anything Aristotle did.

62

u/Theandric Sep 01 '22

Because he didn’t get anything else to do

62

u/Locem Sep 01 '22

His social media posts showed a bunch of characters/sketches he was in that didn't make it to air. If they were never put on Youtube as "cut for time" that means it bombed at dress.

He was given opportunities, but he bombed somewhat regularly it seems.

36

u/BalonyDanza Sep 02 '22

Cast members (especially new ones) write their own sketches… often teaming up with a show writer to do so. It’s not like roles are just handed out each week and someone else kept choosing to bench him. He wasn’t featured more because he wasn’t producing air-able material.

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u/nuts_and_crunchies Sep 01 '22

You're forgetting when he got to, uh, play one of the Six Flag Old Man dancers and when he played a masked Spider-Man behind JAJ's Biden in a cold open.

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u/StevenFromPhilly Sep 01 '22

Losing Moffat hurts.

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u/minniebin Sep 02 '22

Guy who just bought a boat was amazing

21

u/BigBeagleEars Sep 02 '22

I’m sad

43

u/Amsterdom Sep 02 '22

I have a small penis.

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1.1k

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat Among 3 More Cast Members

ouch, sorry Aristotle

216

u/tavir Spaceships, Toddlers, Model-T Cars, and Jars of Beer Sep 01 '22

It's like that episode of Futurama where Fry, Bender, and Leela become superheroes and the ending theme has a lyric: "Super King, Cloberella, and all the rest!"

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u/andropogon09 Sep 01 '22

See "Theme Song from Gilligan's Island"

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u/aBrightIdea Sep 01 '22

Is anyone surprised? Dude burned bridges like it was a bridge sale

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u/wellnesswineandtacos Sep 01 '22

Oh gosh - what did he do? I must have missed something.

286

u/aBrightIdea Sep 01 '22

Literally after every cut or trimmed sketch he would post something passive aggressive to social media. He was a growing small player with chance at headliner know where you are at and celebrate the wins.

Not some massive failing but you have to know that’s how most organizations work whether they be entertainment, business or otherwise.

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u/listenyall Sep 01 '22

Melissa did this a lot too.

92

u/patiperro_v3 Sep 01 '22

And now they are both out. Brutal business. Takes no prisoners.

116

u/mittenciel Sep 01 '22

Melissa got a decent runway to shine, though. I think she's immensely funny and talented, but it's hard for me to say that she was objectively underused; I think she was appropriately featured. In my opinion, she was the best in the cast at impressions, singing, and voiceovers. However, Cecily was close behind in those skills, all the while having way more on-screen presence, so if you needed those things, you'd pick Cecily as your leading lady more often than not. It seemed like Melissa was established as the quirky one who does impressions, but then, Chloe came in. Still, look at the totality of it, and I would say that having half a dozen seasons on SNL and having a pretty good highlight reel is not particularly brutal for her. That's about as long as Jay Pharoah, for instance, and I always feel like they were similar in many ways.

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u/mittenciel Sep 01 '22

Melissa had a pretty good run, though. She had some great moments, and when she got chances to shine, she was able to take them. I feel like she only became salty when it was clear she would never get further ahead on SNL. As talented as she is, SNL rarely felt like the right stage for her, but she did enough on it to make people aware of her abilities.

Not sure that Aristotle got to show the world much of anything via SNL.

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u/Rebloodican Sep 01 '22

He posted just some pictures of him wearing costumes for sketches and an update appearance that was cut, with the caption "if only you knew..."

This is not a burned bridge, Melissa straight up called SNL racist.

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u/LocallySourcedWeirdo Sep 01 '22

"Literally after every cut or trimmed sketch he would post something passive aggressive to social media."

So he basically copied Villasenor's bit.

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u/davyshaps12 Sep 01 '22

how did he burn bridges?

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ChedwardCoolCat Sep 01 '22

Angelo was also super one note and the definition of diminishing returns, it was beloved on this sub and that is fine, but geeze it was pretty lazy as far as sketches go.

64

u/RegularMidwestGuy SNL Sep 01 '22

Thank you for this

31

u/ChedwardCoolCat Sep 01 '22

How do you say . . . upvote?

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u/CapnFoligno Sep 01 '22

mmmmmmmm… sayforme?

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u/lucysalvatierra Sep 01 '22

Honestly, I'm a YouTube SNL fan (just watch the YouTube clips that looked good after every episode) and I've barely seen him or thought he was funny.

Not surprised about Melissa, very sad.

Very surprised about Alex moffet!!!! He was in s ton of sketches and had some solid update characters!!!!!!

89

u/Locem Sep 01 '22

Moffet was more than likely not fired and left of his own will.

48

u/lucysalvatierra Sep 01 '22

Wonder why he didn't do a goodbye sketch. I love his lsd movie reviewer so freaking much.

65

u/redsyrinx2112 Sep 01 '22

He may have decided later. You see it in sports all the time. While some athletes know that the upcoming/current season will be their last and get to have a farwell, some don't decide that they're done until the new season approaches and they think about all the work involved.

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u/CaptainKate757 Sep 01 '22

Terry Fink and Guy Who Just Bought a Boat are two of my favorite recurring WU characters. Alex doesn’t get a ton of buzz compared to some others, but I think he’s been one of the most consistently funny members of the outgoing cast.

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u/Fugitivebush Sep 01 '22

Alex prob just wanted to move on and take a beat. He's been on the show for a good few years now. Honestly, the SNL cast should be more rotational. Granted, the comedy industry isnt the same as it was back when the cast was rotating new members like a Mormon family, but older members should still be leaving more frequently IMO.

At least... this older SNL cast needs to move on; which, aside from Cecily who is prob gonna pull a David Spade, they all are.

I wanna see what the new cast and show looks. I WANT PROGRESSION!

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u/TackYouCack Sep 01 '22

Not surprised about Melissa, very sad.

That really does suck. I didn't much care for her Netflix set, but I loved her on SNL.

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u/smp208 Sep 01 '22

This is how this sub took it, but I never interpreted it that way. AFAIK he never overtly complained the way other people have, the tone was more along the lines of “hey, this is what I was working on this week but it didn’t make the cut” and occasionally sharing things that were cut but posted on SNL’s Instagram or YouTube. Hardly seems like burning bridges unless he was more outspoken about it behind the scenes.

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u/bestbroHide Sep 01 '22

Thanks for this alternative perspective

Felt almost icky seeing so many other highly upvoted comments straight dunking on a dude who just lost his job lol

Could he have behaved better? Perhaps, but I still won't fault him for having confidence. Hope his career is successful moving forward

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u/MidniteMustard Sep 01 '22

I thought the same. He was being that guy who frequently updates his social media. Not that guy who airs drama publicly or "vague booking".

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u/WhyLisaWhy Sep 01 '22

Honestly SNL has always seemed like you need an Iron Will to tolerate the competitiveness. That kind of whining will not get you in Lorne’s good graces.

Not saying I approve of the work schedule or the process, just that it seems like an incredibly hard job to tolerate.

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u/ShanaAfterAll Sep 01 '22

Slapping Lorne certainly didn't help.

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u/lucysalvatierra Sep 01 '22

Wait whaaaaaat????

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u/ShanaAfterAll Sep 01 '22

Some faux insider made a post here early into the season last year saying Aristotle smacked Lorne, it was quickly debunked, but became a running joke.

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u/lucysalvatierra Sep 01 '22

Ahhhh...got it. Only subscribed to this sub recently.

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u/here-i-am-now Sep 01 '22

Why would one be burning their inventory when having a bridge sale?

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u/Dark_Avenger666 Sep 01 '22

I'm glad someone is asking the real questions.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

“AAAAAHHHHH ITS A FIRE…..sale.”

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u/blanketmedallions Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 15 '22

For real, this is like when the Gilligan’s Island theme said “the movie star…and the rest!”

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u/bernardbarnaby Sep 01 '22

I was a big fan of Aristotle hopefully he's one of those guys like Tim Robinson who maybe didn't work on the show but then gets to do something big after

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u/nuts_and_crunchies Sep 01 '22

Tim had Sudeikis as EP on Detroiters and Lonely Island EP for I Think You Should Leave. Not sure if Athari forged enough strong connections to have people like that go to bat for him.

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u/KnowYourSecret Sep 01 '22

Genuinely shocked about Alex- he kills everything he's in. Going to miss him!

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u/Arberrang Sep 01 '22

Yeah I was really excited for there to be less people in the way of more Alex Moffat screen time. The dude is funny

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u/SomeCalcium Sep 01 '22

Probably the biggest loss the season. He had a great season last season so it's a shame to see him go as a Veteran cast member.

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u/bestieverhad Sep 01 '22

His last season was his best!

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u/jozaud Sep 01 '22

I liked him too. I wonder if he is leaving because he has a new job, not because of any situation like the other two.

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u/CaribbeanCarmen Sep 01 '22

I will miss Alex Moffat.

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u/LocallySourcedWeirdo Sep 01 '22

I liked his Eric Trump.

RIP

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u/wylietrix Sep 02 '22

Me too. Hilarious

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u/_swamp_donkey_ Sep 01 '22

And I’m Eric!

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u/LocallySourcedWeirdo Sep 01 '22

Sure you are, buddy.

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u/jmutter3 Sep 01 '22

Guy who just bought a boat was my favorite update character ever

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u/Kashsters Sep 01 '22

He was so skilled in those performances!

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

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u/yumyumapollo Sep 01 '22

"And in my opinion, that's how you make the fire go away."

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u/adube440 Sep 01 '22

Yep, a small throwaway line at the beginning of one of the best sketches in recent history. A hilarious line.

I have to go watch Abraham H. Parnassus give his talk again, brb.

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u/LiamtheV Sep 01 '22

Who is H.R. Pickens?

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u/adube440 Sep 01 '22

EXACTLY!

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u/Is_this_not_rap Sep 01 '22

A ridiculously under-appreciated cast member

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

Alex and Mikey Day never get the attention that Kate or Cecily do, but they've been really great utility players.

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u/UnclePhilSpeaks_ Sep 01 '22

Just means he has an exclusive group of fans who knew his worth first

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u/JDDJS Sep 01 '22

That's because outside of Weekend Update, really all of his best stuff was as a supporting cast member. Having good supporting cast members is extremely important and can make and break sketches, but they simply don't get the attention as the main cast member in the sketch.

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u/grambleflamble Sep 01 '22

I can’t remember a cast member who grew on me so much. I didn’t like him at all at first, but now I’m really bummed to see him go.

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u/CaribbeanCarmen Sep 01 '22

People throw around the term underrated a lot but I think he really was. When I think back, he was solidly funny.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

Great "straight man" energy but could do goofy as well.

His impressions of Al Franken and Chuck Schumer were top notch. Shame Franken was out of the Senate shortly after Alex debuted the role.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

That was my only thought - he was fucking funny. Melissa was too but she didnt do a lot of memorable stuff.

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u/sjfiuauqadfj Sep 01 '22

i kinda expected melissa to leave but didnt expect alex or aristotle to leave. i vaguely recall telling people on here to that they were worrying too much about aristotle leaving after 1 season so i have pie on my face there

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u/CaptainKate757 Sep 01 '22

Same, I’m really bummed to hear this even though I guess it should have been expected soon anyway.

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u/bernardbarnaby Sep 01 '22

It sucks that he didn't get to do more with Biden I liked his version better than Jim Carrey and jaj

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u/Ididnotpostthat Sep 01 '22

Ah crap. I really need more “guy who just bought a boat”

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u/handsaredigital Sep 01 '22

I hope to see Alex is a role like Ted Lasso. I feel like he would be a good fit on a show like that. I feel like we will see more from him and this was just the start. I have a feeling he is leaving to get a step ahead.

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u/Kashsters Sep 01 '22

I am super sad about this one!

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u/WeirdFlecks Sep 01 '22

Only after seeing him do standup did I realize how criminally underused he was.

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u/LP_24 Sep 01 '22

Don’t feel bad for him though, he just bought a boat

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u/Ernest-Everhard42 Sep 01 '22

Guy who just bought a boat is underrated.

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u/Maxa30 Sep 01 '22

WOAH, not surprised by Melissa and Aristotle, EXTREMELY surprised that Alex decided to leave, thought he’d stick it out a couple more years

7 people gone in one is crazy, but the show has needed this for a few years now

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u/IshyMoose Sep 01 '22

Not sure it was decided or decided for him...

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u/Maxa30 Sep 01 '22

I feel like it was his decision, same with Melissa

Both just finished their 6th year, if they were gonna be fired it would’ve happened long ago I would think, unless something happened behind the scenes in the 21-22 season

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u/IshyMoose Sep 01 '22

It could be because the cast was so large Lorne cleared some people out. It is not unprecedented.

Of the three, this one definitely seems the most likely to be voluntary.

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u/Azazael Sep 02 '22

Taran and Jay were both fired in recent history after long stretches on the show.

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u/youneverknow44 Sep 01 '22

Hearing A-Mow get the heave ho from the show is gunna be a big no-no for me, bro I’m a horrible lay

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u/dtuba555 Sep 02 '22

Well done

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u/bttrsondaughter Sep 01 '22

didn’t know that was the last time we were gonna see guy who just bought a boat…you never know what you got ‘til it’s gone

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u/Top_Stranger_8961 Sep 01 '22

His best character

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u/taoleafy Sep 02 '22

Terry Fink film critic was really good to. Especially Terry Fink on acid

https://youtu.be/6_YxSGgl93E

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u/deltaexdeltatee Sep 02 '22

God I loved that character - his facial expressions just put it over the top lol. Bummer that he’s gone :(

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u/KatanaAmerica Sep 01 '22

I’m gonna miss Alex. He was consistently on the mark! Good luck to him, Melissa, and Aristotle!

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

Wow that's 7 current cast members not returning... Can't recall the last time there was this much turnover

334

u/52ndstreet Sep 01 '22

To be fair, the cast has never been as big as it was last season, either…

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u/TheHeroicLionheart Sep 01 '22

Also most of the cast is/was in the 7/8 year club, which is basically the longest most non-Kenan/Darrell cast stay.

Jost and Che are the longest tenured Weekend Update hosts, too.

This cast, as much as I love them, was technically overdue to change.

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u/mareksoon Sep 01 '22

I'm surprised there wasn't a commercial break during the opening credits ...

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u/SereneDreams03 Sep 01 '22

Certainly hasn't happened in a long time, they had a big turnover in the mid '90s, and a few big turnovers in the '80s.

The cast last year was huge though, and it could be a good thing for the show to shake things up a bit, bring in some fresh faces and get some more screen time for the remaining cast.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

I agree with the exception of bringing in new people. Last season's cast was the size of some family reunions, don't add any more. Just cultivate the ones you have.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

Exactly. Plus more lax about letting people take shows off for tv or movies. Think they learned in the 90’s not to hold the leash quite so tight

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u/IshyMoose Sep 01 '22

They blew up the cast going into Season 21. Sandler, Nealon, and Farley were fired amongst others. Meyers, Franken, Garofolo left on their own (similar to this year).

Only 5 of the 17 cast members were brought back.

This reminds me a lot of that season.

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u/_Pill-Cosby_ Sep 01 '22

Seasons 9, 10 & 11 (83, '84 & '85) had massive turnover each year. 83 wasn't a lot of people but big names like Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscapo & Brad Hall. 84 was one of the best sesons in SNL history & maybe my personal favorite. Yet, the entire cast of 10 people all left or were not rehired at the end of the year. Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer, Martin Short, Julia Luis Dreyfus & Christopher Guest were some of the big names. They strongly considered not renewing the show ofter the complete cast turnover. They ultimately renewed it and in '85 an entirely new cast was hired and had 9 of 13 cast member all get let go at the end of the year. It was one of the worst seasons in SNL history and was so bad that it almost killed SNL entirely. Madonna opened season 12 reading a statement about the bad casting choices & writing claiming that Season11 season was all a just a bad dream. 12 was the season that saw Dana Carvey & Phil Hartman join the cast and pull SNL out of what was a very shaky period for the show.

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u/Dull_Poet3723 Sep 01 '22

I think it just the pandemic influencing the cast size again. In the last couple of seasons the pandemic was at it's height and because of it and some other things, the world kinda lost it's zen. Because of that, a lot was unknown. But through season 47 things have changed. People started to figure things out again and it makes sense that more cast members feel more comfortable to leave the job they know and move on. And Lorne probably feels that he can let people go and make cast changes more easily.

TL;DR I think pandemic trends and other world problems ifluenced the cast size.

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u/horriblemonkey Sep 01 '22

When the cast introduction takes up 25% of the show, it’s time for a trim

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u/MattyBeatz Sep 01 '22

Good, it's been so bloated lately. This will give the remaining ones more screen time and that will help develop their next stars. They stopped with the stunt casting and are slowly righting the ship that got a bit off track the last few seasons.

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u/nomascusgabriellae Sep 01 '22

Moffat was one of my favorite. He does a great trump jr or whatever his name is . Also loves him on WU

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u/TechKatana Sep 01 '22

Mikey Day will play ALL the “default white man” roles

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u/bagelchips Sep 02 '22

Ugh. Mikey Day delivers all of his lines like he’s repeating them for the third time to a hard-of-hearing grandma.

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u/Alexgeewhizzz Sep 01 '22

noooo the guy who just bought a boat was far and away my favorite recurring character

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u/BrockThrowaway Sep 01 '22

Yes, I feel bad. But also, the cast was too large.

It's a bummer, but I get it, and the members selected make sense based on appearance frequency in previous seasons.

Some may yell "oh they were never given a shot". That may be true, it may not entirely be true. In all likelihood it's something in between.

The only true thing to me is that the cast was too large.

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u/hyperjengirl Sep 01 '22

If DeuxMoi was right about this then I'm concerned about the PDD part.

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u/Djempanadita Sep 01 '22

Yeah..curious what the rumoured behaviour is

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u/ramblingkite Sep 01 '22

what did they say about PDD?

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u/AintEverLucky Sep 01 '22

The DeuxMoi post said basically "allegations are swirling about one of the PDD guys, but probably nothing will come of them because of his famous daddy"

... which basically points to John Higgins (the brunette) whose father is Steve Higgins, sidekick to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. Could also be Martin Herlihy (the one with glasses) whose father is former SNL head writer (but not actually famous IMO) Tim Herlihy. Ben Marshall (the ginger) seems to be in the clear

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u/LocallySourcedWeirdo Sep 01 '22

Glad to hear my ginger snap is not the perv.

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u/BlackLeader70 Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

John Steve Higgins has also been a producer at SNL since 1996.

Edit: Steve not John.

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u/AintEverLucky Sep 01 '22

Pretty sure you're thinking of Steve Higgins his father. And that John Higgins wasn't even born yet in 1996

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u/IamnotGenerikB Sep 01 '22

I think it’s more likely to be Martin. John is in a long committed relationship. Which that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be causing issues but you sure hope that would stop him. Also once I saw that post I did some searching and while I couldn’t find much stuff, I did see some deleted stuff talking about allegations and Martin but that’s all I could see from the deleted stuff and that doesn’t even mean that’s connected because it could have been two separate things but those words are still able to be found on the same pages. So I honestly don’t know anything other than I think it’s more likely Martin.

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u/ramblingkite Sep 01 '22

yiiiikes. that sucks. hope it's not true, but unfortunately it's so common it wouldn't shock me that much. also, no personal opinion if it's john or martin, but if someone is shitty enough to harass/abuse people, it's not a huge stretch to think that they'd also cheat.

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u/Glittering_Try_236 Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

Thinking someone is less likely to be a creep because they're in a committed relationship is...extremely off. A huge number of the most famous creeps have been straight up married with children.

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u/ATLCoyote Sep 01 '22

Always liked Melissa, but I feel like she will be better suited for a sitcom or series anyway. On the other hand, Alex was one of the few cast members that was pretty consistently good in sketches and that seems like a loss.

That said, one of the problems is that the cast is too big and trimming it down may actually be addition by subtraction.

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u/CabotLowell Sep 01 '22

Wow, Aristotle got cut for time in the headline too?

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u/monsieurxander Sep 01 '22

I liked Aristotle but weird flex to go all in on Angelo. Looks like he'll be the lead role in an upcoming movie, so maybe it's for the best.

Melissa's talented but maybe not the best fit for SNL. I'd like to see her have her own show.

Pretty shocked about Alex, though.

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u/forevertrueblue Sep 01 '22

Oooo nice gig for Aristotle!

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u/melskysphere Sep 01 '22

The most shocking things about this to me is that Alex and Melissa joined the show the same year. It seemed like he had been on a lot longer and her a lot shorter.

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u/elephantsnever4get93 Sep 02 '22

My thought exactly! It felt like he was there for 7 years and she for 3-4 years

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u/SullyGee Sep 01 '22

I've always been a Melissa supporter, but I truly think Alex is the biggest loss here. I guess that explains why he got to do Guy Who Just Bought a Boat one last time in the finale.

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u/xBobSacamanox Sep 01 '22

Would have been shorter just to write the third persons name 🤔

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u/SmarcusStroman Sep 01 '22

"click-bait, click-bait, click-bait" -Natalie Portman

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '22

So, we're only getting 12 cast members for the sketches?

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u/swagenom3try Sep 01 '22

I mean, we're practically guaranteed some new featured players with 7 members going. The trend is 2 or 3, but I still think a cast of 15 is not too big.

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u/swagenom3try Sep 01 '22

Addendum: the PDD guys also take a fair amount of screen time, though that might be different this season with their movie.

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u/scratchedrecord_ Sep 01 '22

"Only" 12? That's a pretty standard number, the show has ran with casts around that size for most of its history.

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u/Thatchos Sep 01 '22

Unless they add people, which I bet they will

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u/ty_kanye_vcool Sep 01 '22

“I wanna be the next new SNL cast member!”

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u/PearlSquared Sep 01 '22

gonna miss moffat, he really caught me off-guard— thought for sure he’d do the whole 7 years!!

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u/Thatchos Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

OH CRAP. This was RIGHT after I read DeuxMoi’s post and thought “ehh, hopefully just rumors”

In all seriousness I’m gonna miss all three of these people. Alex was an incredible go-to guy with such a great presence, Aristotle gave us an iconic character which is hard for a “one-season wonder” to do, and Melissa… ohh man. One of the most endearing, quirky, almost sneakily talented cast members of the modern era. While it’s easy to think about what might have been, I am confident people will look back on their tenures fondly. Happy trails, you brilliant people.

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u/MoneyHungryOctopus Sep 01 '22

Angelo was a fan favorite but the character’s nowhere near iconic.

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u/philtrashno1 Sep 01 '22

and this just-in: mikey ‘ummmmm okay?’ day gets SNL contract renewed through 2040!

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u/BeneficialMixture815 Sep 01 '22

Pretty excited to see the new SNL theme song intro we’ll get out of this

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u/AllThighThisGuy Sep 02 '22

We finally get to hear the Michael Che-Mikey Day listing that (some) people have been waiting for.

And it should be right at the start now.

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u/ysrly Sep 01 '22

Dang, I really thought we’d see Melissa come into her prime on SNL. Guess it will be elsewhere, and I know I’ll love it.

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u/ChickenInASuit Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

Tbh, I felt the writing was on the wall with Melissa once Chloe joined the cast and proved herself to also be a good impressionist while having more range outside of that.

They’ve never known what to do with Melissa and once they brought in another woman who was gifted at the one thing Melissa really had a lock on, her days in the cast were numbered.

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u/CraptacularSpecimen Sep 01 '22

Same. I was kind of looking forward to her having more room to grow now that the cast was smaller... but where she ends up, she's going to be amazing. She's very talented.

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u/TheMuthaFlippin Sep 01 '22

I think this is largely not a bad thing, considering how big the cast is these days and that cast members are largely staying way too long.

Alex had a good run with some memorable characters but apart from in his first season he never looked like he was going to be a top-level cast member. He had a good run but he's replaceable.

I get that Melissa is likeable but it was always clear that SNL is not the right arena for her. I don't think anyone can name a six-year cast member to have ever had less impact on the show?

Aristotle clearly has some talent but it looks like he can't write a sketch. The first Angelo was great but the ones after that were pretty lazy and were rightly cut. That he got no other sketches to air proves that he really struggles to navigate the SNL system. He'll be better off elsewhere.

Hopefully all of these departures create more room for new blood to shine. It feels like we're entering a new era of SNL which is always a good thing.

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u/OUBoyWonder Sep 01 '22

LOL, Punkie's over there not saying a word probably glad she just has a gig. We're Black, we know how to "lay in the cut" and just go along to keep getting that check.

Punkie: "I'm just so glad to be here!

whispers* "Did that last check clear? Yes? Ok, we're good."*

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u/podkayne3000 Sep 01 '22

I'm not Black, and I love Punkie. We need more Punkie.

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u/smartone2000 Sep 01 '22

Melissa was very personable but she always smirked in every sketch and would occasionally stumble with her lines.

Alex Moffat is one of those solid sketch guys but they already have Mikey Day who is the same type but does it better

Aristotle was one of those cast members that join the long list of they could have been a great cast member but flamed out the first year .

Hopefully SNL won't add to cast because it is getting ridiculous how big the cast is . They could have literally split the cast and done a separate Friday Night Live Show

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u/NH80397 Sep 01 '22

Aristotle did slap Lorne, I guess after all.

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u/juicyb09 Sep 01 '22

Who will do the Owen Wilson impersonations now!?!??

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u/bright-lanterns Sep 01 '22

RIP Terry Fink. May you enjoy movies whilst macrodosing for eternity

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u/FunnOnABunn Sep 02 '22

I'm sad about Alex Moffat also because I felt like him and Mikey Day made such a good duo

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u/BalonyDanza Sep 01 '22

I hope this doesn't make me sound like an asshole, but I'm glad we're finally getting off the Melissa ride.

If nothing else, this sub will no longer be inundated with debates about why she isn't featured more and whether or not being good at impressions is synonymous with being funny.

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u/forevertrueblue Sep 01 '22

We'll just end up doing it about someone else.

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u/TiedinHistory Sep 01 '22

I don't think they really figured out the best way to use Melissa. There's been enough time to determine that but it's probably for the best. Alex deserved more for sure, his characters consistently hit, good straight man, just the right level of weird. I think he'll find some real good non SNL opportunities. Hard to tell on Aristotle given the non existent airtime but the one-year-wonders are always tough pills to swallow.

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u/san_vicente Sep 01 '22

Wow the great resignation applies to SNL too

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u/AintEverLucky Sep 01 '22

let's just see who is left:

Main cast -- Michael Che; Mikey Day; Chloe Fineman; Heidi Gardner; Colin Jost; Ego Nwodim; Chris Redd; Cecily Strong; Kenan Thompson; Bowen Yang

Featured cast -- Andrew Dismukes; James Austin Johnson; Punkie Johnson; Sarah Sherman

So that's still 14 cast members! And that's not counting the Please Don't Destroy guys, who are merely counted as writers (I think)

Dismukes and Johnson have both been "featured" for 2 years so it seems likely they'll get promoted to Main, as is custom. And it seems there's one or two brand new people added every season -- even COVID didn't break that pattern

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u/Raptorpicklezz Tim is my rapper name Sep 01 '22

Honestly, with this amount of turnover, if I were Lorne I would promote Sarah and JAJ too. Aidy and Cecily got promoted after just 1 year because of a huge turnover. Sarah and JAJ have made a disproportionate impact compared to other recent featured players, save for Mikey and Bowen

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u/AintEverLucky Sep 01 '22

If I remember right, Kate McKinnon got promoted to Main partway thru her first year. Talent will out, as they say

No offense to JAJ or Sarah, but I'm not convinced either is on the "promote after only one year" level. Though I do agree that if Lorne does promote one, he may as well do both to avoid hard feelings

Sarah in particular is pretty polarizing, some people find a little of her goes a lonnnnnnnnnng way. And as for JAJ, you absolutely need him for Trump sketches; probably the best guy available for Biden sketches; and I'm impressed that the writers found two uses for his Homer Simpson. But beyond that... ? but definitely promote him next year if not this, because they will want quality Trump and Biden impressions leading up to the 2024 election

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u/Raptorpicklezz Tim is my rapper name Sep 01 '22

As talented as Kate is, no one since Amy Poehler (who I think you were thinking of) has gotten promoted midway through their first year. Kate got promoted when Cecily and Aidy were, which was her third season, though her first season was only 5 episodes.

Also, IMHO, Aidy didn't really do enough in Season 38 to warrant a promotion. She really hit her stride in Season 39, but JAJ and Sarah had better first seasons than Aidy did.

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u/Different-Zone-3010 Sep 01 '22

First Melissa and now Alex 🤦‍♂️

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u/PinkFancyCrane Sep 01 '22

I have a bad connection and can’t refresh the page; can someone tell me what 2 other cast members are leaving? I got Alex, Melissa, and Aristotle.

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u/FlingbatMagoo Sep 01 '22

That’s it. The headline is dumb; Alex and Melissa are “among 3” to leave, the third is Aristotle.

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u/PinkFancyCrane Sep 01 '22

Oh I see. I’m kinda embarrassed for my question now that you clarified the headline; I genuinely thought it was saying 5 cast members are leaving. Edit: sorry, thanks for answering me though!!!

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u/rlm8772 Sep 01 '22

Well shit I’ll pour one out for Angelo 🥺

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u/JackTwoGuns Sep 01 '22

Alex was a legit talent dude was in so many sketches

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u/20CAS17 Sep 01 '22

Aw man, 'Guy Who Just Bought A Boat' is one of my favorite segments!

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u/LosAngelesVikings Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

Huge fan of Moffat, and I'm disappointed to say the least.

I'm hoping it was his decision.

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u/amodelmannequin Sep 01 '22

Moffat seemed so underrated to me. Really liked his delivery, even in bit parts.