'Saturday Night Live' 2016: Are Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon & Others Returning For Season 42? [VIDEO]
While Saturday Night Live has made a few significant changes to its cast and writer hierarchy ahead of season 42, most of the cast is staying the same.
Season 41 of Saturday Night Live featured a whopping 16 cast members, but this total will drop by the time season 42 rolls around in October. That's because the long-running sketch comedy stalwart is letting go of three cast members.
The lineup of main (repertory) cast members returning for season 42 includes the following, according to Splitsider:
-Vanessa Bayer
-Beck Bennett
-Aidy Bryant
-Colin Jost
-Kate McKinnon
-Kyle Mooney
-Bobby Moynihan
-Cecily Strong
-Kenan Thompson
-Sasheer Zamata
The following featured players are also expected to return:
-Michael Che
-Pete Davidson
-Leslie Jones
It remains to be seen if Che, Davidson and/or Jones will be promoted to repertory status in season 42. All three joined the show as cast members for season 40 in 2014. Che and Jost will continue as the Weekend Update anchors.
As for who's not returning, Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky were all asked not to come back for season 42. Considering Rudnitsky failed to make a sizable impact in his debut season, it's not a huge surprise that he's gone, but the departure of Killam and Pharoah is still somewhat shocking. Both joined the show in 2010 and made their marks on the show throughout their six-year run.
Meanwhile, there was some speculation about McKinnon and Jones possibly leaving SNL, but these rumors have now been laid to rest. The two actresses appeared in the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters, which has currently made over $120 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide.
Saturday Night Live season 42 is set to premiere Saturday, Oct. 1 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. A host has not been announced for the premiere or any other new episodes.
