“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight. But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL,” Nwodim shared to her Instagram on Friday. “I am immensely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity, to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support, and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories, and that laughter, with me always.”
Nwodim became a breakout star in recent years, gaining attention for her impression of Dionne Warwick and her recurring character Lisa from Temecula. Last season, she went viral for a Weekend Update stand-up bit dubbed “Miss Eggy”: After rhetorically asking the audience, “‘Cause these men ain’t what?”, the comedian was startled when the crowd shouted back, “Shit!” (“We finna get fined for that,” she joked.) Outside of SNL, she’s begun doing more film and television work, like 2024’s Players and a guest role on the most recent season of Poker Face. Those opportunities were a “Dream come true,” Nwodim told Deadline in 2023. “I want my other dreams to come true. I want to be in films and I want to do more TV as well.”
In addition to Nwodim, the other SNL exits include Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, and Emil Wakim. The returning cast includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline, plus new cast members Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska and Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall. Saturday Night Live returns for the season 51 premiere on October 4.
