NBC’s comedy staple Saturday Night Live is about to go into its 51st season. That means roughly 400 billion cast members have come and gone through the hallowed halls of Studio 8H. The show is a star-maker, even if the given season or era isn’t all that well regarded. That generally, however, means that when the show announces new cast members—unless they’re Kenan Thompson 100 years ago—most of the viewers won’t know them until they first appear on SNL . The one exception in the batch ahead of season 51 is a member of comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy , who will join the main cast just as another PDD member leaves.

In recent weeks, several cast members either chose not to renew their contracts or did not receive an extension. The highest profile of these is veteran Heidi Gardner

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