Three additional people from “Saturday Night Live” are leaving the show in what is turning out to be one of the most notable cast cleanups in years. Variety revealed that Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor and Aristotle Athari were leaving. The latest news comes a few weeks before the presentation of the 48th season of the well-known program and closely following, without a doubt, four other departures of the cast.
Moffat, who joined the show in 2016, may be generally famous for his portrayals of Eric Trump and Tucker Carlson. Villaseñor, who came up with the idea that same year, brought in a sizable number of impressions that included everyone from Owen Wilson to Kristen Wiig. Athari was a relative rookie, making his show in the 2021-22 season.
Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon and Kyle Mooney have recently revealed that they are leaving. Michael Che, a lead writer and host of the “Weekend Update” segment, also suggested that he would leave, at which point he later backed down and said he would return.
The cleanup has sparked a sense of progress and perhaps a shred of sentiment as the show heads toward its 50th season in 2024-25.
The best cast of Saturday Night Live in a season https://t.co/QBDTQn2B98 pic.twitter.com/RPNILmdokL
– Sports stool (@barstoolsports) September 7, 2022
Kenan Thompson, who will begin his record-breaking 20th season on the show, said in July that completing everything after that achievement “probably won’t be an illogical thought.” Also, the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels, saw that he could call it work by then, saying that season 50 would be “a really extraordinary opportunity to go away.”
Apparently, NBC is unable to report the debut date. Regardless, if you stick to the show’s new model, it will most likely be October 1.