As of the publish time of this story, four members of Saturday Night Live ’ s season 50 cast aren’t returning for season 51, which is set to begin Oct. 4. The departures of Heidi Gardner , Michael Longfellow , Emil Wakim and Devon Walker make for the largest cast turnover since 2022, when eight performers left.

It’s also far from unprecedented in SNL ’ s history — in fact, the show has rarely gone more than a few years without a significant overhaul of its cast. Over the half-century Saturday Night Live has been airing on NBC , cast shakeups have roiled the show numerous times, with some performers leaving of their own accord and others let go for a myriad of reasons ranging from budget cuts to a desire by SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels for fresh faces and perspec

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