Michael Longfellow will leave Saturday Night Live ahead of season 51
The news comes as a surprise, as Longfellow was reportedly screen tested to anchor Weekend Update.
Screenshot: Saturday Night Live/YouTube
It’s not surprising to see more Saturday Night Live staffers departing the show as Lorne Michaels commences his annual purge, but the latest name to be announced does come as a bit of a shock. Repertory player Michael Longfellow is officially out, Deadline reports. Longfellow didn’t have much screentime in season 50—in May he joked that he only worked “like 12 hours a week”—but earlier this week, Late Nighter reported that the comedian had screen tested alongside writer KC Shornima to potentially take over the Weekend Update desk. Whether the new update means Michael Che and Colin Jost will stay in the job for at least another year is unclear, but Longfellow definitely won’t be subbing in.