It looks like Pete Davidson isn’t the only one leaving Saturday Night Live tonight. Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney are all reportedly leaving SNL following the Season 47 finale, airing Saturday, May 21, on NBC, hosted by Natasha Lyonne.
The exiting actors will stage a big group goodbye at the end of the episode, according to Deadline. McKinnon, Bryant, Mooney, and Davidson have all been on SNL for eight or more seasons. But they’ve appeared less and less in recent years. The SNL cast is currently the biggest its ever been at 21, which gave room for long-standing cast members to temporarily leave the sketch comedy series to pursue different projects.
McKinnon opened Selena Gomez‘s episode on May 14, appearing as MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. Mooney played Johnny Depp in the sketch, and Bryant played a lawyer questioning him. Much of Davidson’s Season 47 appearances have been pre-taped digital shorts, the most recent being the “Short-Ass Movie” video featuring Gunna, Simon Rex, and co-star Chris Redd.
Beck Bennett was the only major exit from SNL Season 46, along with supporting cast member Lauren Holt.
McKinnon and Bryant’s absences over the last couple of seasons have been due to filming schedules. Bryant stars in Hulu‘s Shrill, and McKinnon took a break from Season 47 to play Carole Baskin in Peacock‘s Joe vs. Carole alongside John Cameron Mitchell. Davidson is currently developing a Peacock comedy series called Bupkis, which he’ll star in with Edie Falco. Lorne Michaels will executive produce, as he does with most of the shows SNL actors work on outside of the sketch comedy staple.
McKinnon and Bryant both joined SNL in 2012 and were bumped to series regulars in 2013. Some of their most memorable characters include Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Ted Cruz, and they’ve created a slew of hilarious characters as a duo.
Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
Davidson’s digital shorts have been a highlight of his tenure (the Chad videos, especially), as well as his Weekend Update appearances as himself. And Mooney’s hilariously awkward comedy style has made for some of SNL‘s best cringeworthy sketches. He joined in 2013, and Davidson joined in 2014.
Other cast members on SNL for more than eight seasons include Kenan Thompson (the show’s longest-running cast member), Cecily Strong (who joined the show with McKinnon and Bryant in 2012), Michael Che, and Colin Jost. In 2016, McKinnon was the first SNL cast member in history to win an Emmy in the comedy supporting acting category.
Saturday Night Live, Season 47, Saturdays, 11:30/10:30c, NBC