Meet the Cast of 'SNL' Season 50

Saturday Night Live is turning 50! The legendary sketch show kicks off a landmark 50th season on Saturday, Sept. 28 on NBC, with an incredible cast of comedians ready to put together a whole new slate of sketches. Ahead of Season 50, however, some casting shakeups were announced with promotions, departures and new hires all happening.

Three female comics left the show in late summer. Punkie Johnson announced on Aug. 1 that she would be leaving the show after four years, Molly Kearney announced their departure after two seasons the next day and then it was released on Sep. 9 that Chloe Troast would also not return after one season as a featured player.

The same day that Troast's exit was announced, SNL revealed the names of three new cast members joining as featured players. Groundlings alum Ashley Padilla , stand-up Emil Wakim , and Tik-Tok comedian Jane Wickline will be the newest faces on the sketch series.

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Who else can you expect to see on SNL50: The Anniversary Season ? Here's a breakdown of this season's cast.

The cast of Saturday Night Live Season 50

Returning cast members

Colin Jost

Colin Jost is also back for another season of hosting "Weekend Update." He's sat behind the desk of "Weekend Update" since 2014, but has written for SNL since 2005. He's known for his straight-laced humor, political satire and the near-constant jokes about his marriage to Marvel actress Scarlett Johansson .

Michael Che

Season 50 will mark Michael Che's 10th season as a "Weekend Update" co-host. Che and his co-anchor Colin Jost have gone viral multiple times, especially for a reoccurring bit where they write each other's jokes during the last SNL episode before the holiday break and during the season finale.

Heidi Gardner

Heidi Gardner has one of the longest tenures of the current SNL cast. She joined the show in 2017 and was promoted to repertory status in 2019. Gardner was well known for never breaking character on the show, but then completely lost it during the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch in Season 49. She has multiple recurring characters on the show, including teen film critic Bailey Gismert, anxious Goop worker Baskin Johns, and your annoying co-worker who gets away with doing nothing, Crystal.

Kenan Thompson

SNL actually has two anniversaries to celebrate this season. Not only is it Season 50, but this also marks Kenan Thompson 's 20th season on the sketch show. Thompson joined the show in 2004 after years of being a child actor on Nickelodeon shows including All That . Thompson has been on SNL longer than any other cast member in the show's history and has many memorable roles, including the host "Black Jeopardy," "What's Up with That?" host Diondre Cole, and part of the throwback hit "Kenan and Kelly" along with Keke Palmer .

Chloe Fineman

Chloe Fineman joined the SNL cast in 2019 and was promoted to repertory player in 2021. She is one of the show's top impressionists and her repertoire includes Melania Trump , JoJo Siwa, Nicole Kidman , Britney Spears and more.

Marcello Hernandez

After two years as a featured player on the show, Marcello Hernandez has been promoted to repertory status. Hernandez's most viral sketch is "Protective Mom," featuring Pedro Pascal as his overbearing Latina mom. Hernandez has also made multiple memorable appearances on "Weekend Update" to discuss topics like depression in men, and short kings.

Sarah Sherman

Sarah Sherman returns for her third season on SNL this year. She's an alternative comedians and is known for sketches that make audiences squirm. One of her more popular sketches is "Meatballs," in which she plays a woman with a singing meatball, played by host Oscar Isaac , growing out of her neck.

Mikey Day

Mikey Day was first hired to be a writer for SNL in 2013 and then found himself on stage as a featured player three years later. He was promoted to repertory player in 2018 and will return for the 50th season. Day is known for writing the legendary "Haunted Elevator" sketch featuring Tom Hanks as David S. Pumpkins. Day also made headlines in Season 49 for playing a man with an uncanny resemblance to MTV's Butt-Head opposite Ryan Gosling 's Beavis.

Bowen Yang

Bowen Yang might be SNL 's biggest break-out star still on the cast. He first joined the show as a writer in 2018 before becoming a featured player the following year. He was the first featured player to land an Emmy nomination in SNL history. Yang loves a singing sketch like "Outdoor Cabaret." The actor also made headlines for playing disgraced congressman George Santos in Season 48, but his most well-known bit may be playing the iceberg that sunk the Titanic during a hall-of-fame "Weekend Update" appearance.

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Ego Nwodim

Ego Nwodim has been part of the SNL since 2018 and is now one of the show's biggest stars. She's famous for her Wendy Williams impression and sketches like " Lisa from Tomecula ." Her characters are usually over the top and Nwodim told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that she loves her characters to be "strong and wrong."

James Austin Johnson

This will be James Austin Johnson 's second year as a repertory player after joining the show in 2021. He's an important part of the show's political satire team because of his impressions of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden .

Andrew Dismukes

Season 50 is Andrew Dismukes' seventh season of SNL . He's been a repertory player since 2022 after serving two seasons as a featured player and three seasons as a writer. He's been nominated for two Primetime Emmy nominations due to his work on the show.

Michael Longfellow

Michael Longfellow was promoted this year to reperatory status, having shined in multiple "Weekend Update" segments. He joined the cast in 2022 along with Hernandez.

Devon Walker

Devon Walker is the third member from the Season 48 newbies to become a series regular. In Season 49, he played Shannon Sharpe opposite Ego Nowdim's Wendy Williams . He also played CBS football commentator Nate Burleson during a spring sketch about the end of the NFL season.

New cast members

Ashley Padilla

Ashley Padilla is a sketch and improv comedian who graduated from The Groundlings comedy school and was a member of the Groundlings Main Stage Company. Her other TV credits include Night Court and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Emil Wakim

Emil Wakim is the first Lebanese-American actor to be cast on SNL and the only new male cast member this season. He's opened for comedians like Roy Wood Jr., Hasan Minhaj and Neal Brennan before landing the SNL gig.

Jane Wickline

Jane Wickline started posting videos on TikTok in late 2020 when her college semester was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her comedy videos led her to join Stapleview, a live sketch comedy show that streams on TikTok, and she is now also a regular face in the New York alternative comedy scene.

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