Here’s Who Won’t Be Returning for ‘SNL’ Season 51

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Aug 29

Heidi Gardner on ‘Saturday Night Live’ **CREDIT: LAUREN CLEMENTS/NBC/GETTY IMAGES**

Heidi Gardner leads a wave of exits from Saturday Night Live ahead of its landmark 51st season.

The cast shake-up at Saturday Night Live has turned into a full-blown exodus. Longtime favorite Heidi Gardner is officially departing the iconic NBC sketch series after eight seasons, joined by Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and writer Celeste Yim — making this one of the biggest turnover stretches in recent memory.

Gardner, who joined in 2017 and quickly became a fixture with characters like teenage film critic Bailey Gismert and “Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend in Every Movie About Boxing Ever,” was the show’s longest-tenured female cast member last season. Her viral break in 2024’s “Beavis and Butt-Head” sketch remains one of the most replayed moments of her tenure, but her range extended from impressions of Kim Kardashian and Jill Biden to original creations that defined a new era at Studio 8H. Outside SNL, Gardner has built an expanding career with credits in Shrinking, You, Superstore, and campaigns for Starbucks and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Her exit follows three younger cast members — Walker, Longfellow, and Wakim — each of whom announced their departures this week on social media. Walker, who joined in 2022, likened the job to “a little marriage,” writing that his time on the show was “sometimes really cool, sometimes toxic as hell,” but ultimately unforgettable. Longfellow called his three years “the best of my life so far” and thanked Lorne Michaels for “changing my life.” Wakim, who entered as a featured player, described leaving as “a gut punch” but praised the “terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding” experience of working at 30 Rock.

Adding to the shake-up, staff writer Celeste Yim is also moving on after five seasons. Yim, who made history as SNL’sfirst out trans writer, reflected on the experience as “grueling” but transformative, calling it a place where they “laughed every day” and were proud to continue the show’s tradition of queer storytelling.

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Lorne Michaels had hinted that changes were coming, telling Puck earlier this month that “a shake-up was inevitable” as the series prepares for its landmark 51st season. The current wave of exits is the largest since 2022, when eight cast members left in a single year.

Season 51 of Saturday Night Live premieres October 4 on NBC, with the remaining lineup yet to be finalized. For fans, the departures mark the end of an era — and the beginning of what could be one of the most transformative seasons in the show’s history.

Vulture first reported Gardner’s departure.