Vanessa Bayer to Exit ‘SNL’ Following Season 42 Finale
Tonight’s Saturday Night Live will mark the end to both the series’ 42nd season as well as Vanessa Bayer’s tenure on the show after it was revealed that the longtime cast member won’t be returning for Season 43.
Bayer, Number 43 on Rolling Stone‘s SNL Cast Members list, had been a Not Ready for Prime Time Player for seven seasons, which tied her with Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch for second-longest-serving female cast member; Amy Poehler, with eight SNL seasons, is the record holder.
During her tenure, Bayer was known for her reoccurring characters like Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, a Totino’s-loving housewife and child actress Laura Parsons, as well as her impressions of Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Aniston as Friends‘ Rachel Green.
Deadline reports that Bayer’s contract with SNL will conclude following Season 42. She is the second major cast member to announce plans to leave Saturday Night Live this week: Bobby Moynihan, a nine-season veteran, will also make his final appearance on tonight’s Dwayne Johnson-hosted episode.
Moynihan’s exit was expected as he landed his own CBS show, My Myself and I, which will film in Los Angeles, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
Kenan Thompson, currently tied with Darrell Hammond for SNL‘s all-time longest-tenure cast member with 14 seasons, is expected to return for Season 43, Deadline added.