This past season of Saturday Night Live was considered to be a “transition year” after losing fan favorites such as Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, and Fred Armisen. The replacements of these stars had big shoes to fill, and we are sad to find out that not everyone made the cut for next year. Season 39 started off introducing newcomers Beck Bennett (who you may recognize from the hilarious AT&T commercials with the kids), Mike O’Brien, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Noel Wells, and Brooks Wheelan. With so many rookies, it seemed there was not enough screen time for each of the new featured players to show off their skills. This week, Deadline reported that the contracts of some of our favorite newcomers were not renewed for the highly anticipated 40th season of SNL premiering next fall.
Stand-up comedian, Upright Citizens Brigade alum, and former biomedical engineer, Brooks Wheelan used his Twitter account to harshen the blow after being fired. Wheelan tweeted“Had a blast and loved every second of it. I’m totally honored to be able to make this next joke…FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” We will miss Brooks, his drunken stories on Weekend Update, and his Jared Leto impersonation. SNL gave him an opportunity make a name for himself and we know he has a bright future in comedy ahead of him.
Featured players and UCB alums Noel Wells and John Milhiser also got the boot after just one season. Wells, one of the two female cast members added this season, is probably best known for her Lena Dunham impersonation in the hilarious Girls parody that aired during the season premiere hosted by Tina Fey. Wells also has quite a large following on her own Youtube channel, as well as appearances in funny videos on sites such as Cracked.com, and CollegeHumor. Milhiser, who nailed his impersonation of Jon Cryer during the Celebrity Family Feud sketch, was a member of the sketch comedy group"Serious Lunch" and has been featured on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, as well as in the film Camp Takota.
Nasim Pedrad is also ending her contract with SNL after 5 hilarious years...but don't panic! You can catch her on Fox’s new show Mulaney this fall produced by Lorne Michaels’ himself. Nasim has proven her comedic brilliance with characters such as Shallon, Heshy, and impersonations including Barbara Walters, and Arianna Huffington. Although we are excited to see Nasim’s career moving forward, one question still remains: Who will play Kim Kardashian on Saturday nights?
We are bummed to see Nasim, Noel, John, and Brooks depart from the show, but we will always remember their quirky impersonations and appreciate the many laughs they brought us this season. We wish them all the best of luck, and we can’t wait to see what these comedic geniuses do next!