Saturday Night Live said goodbye to some of its most familiar faces with its recent season finale.
Aidy Bryant opened up about her decision to leave the NBC series after 10 years in a new interview with Variety.
The star revealed that she would have probably exited sooner than initially planned, but a couple of reasons kept her on the show.
“If it weren’t for COVID, I probably would have left a few years earlier. But it was such a huge change,” the Shrill star said.
“When COVID hit, it was so jarring that we were all like, ‘I’m definitely going to come back next year.’”
She continued, “And then I had to shoot Shrill for half of last season, and so I missed a lot.”
“And then it was like, ‘Well, now I should go back one more.’”
“I kept trying to seek one last normal year,” she added.
“This year wasn’t the normal year that I hoped for, but it was closer to that. It was like, ‘OK, it’s really time now.’ And 10 felt like a nice, solid round number.”
Bryant was a popular figure on the series, having first appeared on Season 38.
Her co-stars, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney all decided to leave at the same time, so there will be some big changes on the horizon.
Bryant went on to speak about the moment she told producer Lorne Michaels of her intention to leave.
“I was scared because I feel close to him and so grateful to him. I didn’t want it to come off like I was leaving angrily. I am leaving with so much love. He was like, ‘I understand, and it makes sense for you.’”
The star also spoke about her final sketch.
“I was worried I was going to really crack it wide open and fully be crying. It felt very joyful, and I felt incredibly fortified by having Bowen [Yang] and [Michael] Che next to me because they know me and know how considered this was for me to go.”
What are your thoughts on Bryant’s decision to leave?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.