McKinnon, Kenan and Every Other SNL Star Staying Put for Season 42
SNL sailed from the 40th anniversary into Season 41 rather smoothly, though the waters roughened in recent weeks with the departures of Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky. Thankfully, it’s clear skies ahead for Season 42, as the rest of the beloved cast will be staying aboard. Sailing metaphors!
Splitsider managed to confirm with SNL that no other departures from the cast are expected as we approach the Season 42 premiere. After Killam, Pharoah and Rudnitsky, that leaves Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Bobby Moynihan, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Sasheer Zamata, Michael Che, Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones.
In other words, PHEW.
All of that said, it remains to be seen if SNL will be adding any new cast members to replace the departing three. The upcoming season has already experienced a bit of turnover, promoting staff Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider co-head writers, replacing Rob Klein and Bryan Tucker, who took over after Colin Jost stepped down to concentrate on Weekend Update and more general writing duties.
Equally unknown is when SNL might shore up its first Season 42 hosts, or a formal premiere date, but how much longer should we expect the current cast to remain? Kenan seems intent on maintaining his senior role, but are McKinnon and Jones primed to break out?
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