Five new cast members will join the upcoming season of “ Saturday Night Live ,” NBC announced Tuesday on the heels of several high-profile departures.

Ben Marshall, already an "SNL" writer, will become a featured player, along with newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.

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The additions follow a string of cast departures in the past month as the storied program prepares for its 51st season. Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow confirmed last week on their social media accounts that they are leaving the show. Multiple news outlets reported that cast mainstay Heidi Gardner was also departing the show , but neither Gardner nor NBC have publicly confirmed.

“SNL” c

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