‘SNL’ Loses a Crop of Cast Members
Saturday Night Live has lost two more new members and one veteran from its ever-shifting cast. According to a Deadline report, two featured players from last season, Noël Wells and John Milhiser, have been dismissed from the sketch series, and five-season cast member Nasim Pedrad has departed to co-star on the new Fox series Mulaney (which is executive-produced by SNL‘s longtime boss, Lorne Michaels).
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This latest batch of cast shake-ups arrives after newcomer Brooks Wheelan announced his firing on Monday via Twitter. “Had a blast and loved every second of it,” he wrote. “I’m totally honored to be able to make this next joke… FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” An SNL representative declined to comment on Wheelan’s exit to New York Daily News, saying it wouldn’t address “casting rumors or changes.”
SNL has gone through some painful changes in the past few years, following the mass exodus of six veteran cast members (including fan favorites Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and current Late Night host Seth Meyers) after the 2012-2013 season. Wells, Milhiser and Wheelan then joined the show, along with fellow rookies Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney and Sasheer Zamata. Of the newbies, Wheelan was arguably the most visible on the actual show, making frequent appearances on “Update,” alongside new host Colin Jost.
According to an unconfirmed Deadline report, featured player (and former writer) Michael Patrick O’Brien could also face some changes next season, including a possible shift back to the writing staff or a co-hosting stint on “Weekend Update.”