As Saturday Night Live inches closer to Season 50, the long-running variety sketch series is still going as strong as ever. Of course, in recent years, the show has continued to go through major cast changes, which is par for the course for such a long-running program. Plenty of major stars got their start on the show, before going on to even bigger gigs. That being said, how does SNL creator Lorne Michaels feel about the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kristen Wiig and more leaving?
Many SNL alums became sitcom stars after leaving or made their mark as movie actors -- or both. From Adam Sandler to Jimmy Fallon to Tiny Fey and others, the show was the starting point for many careers. In 2022, Lorne Michaels opened up about eight cast members leaving ahead of Season 48, noting it was natural for the exiting stars, including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson and Aidy Bryant, wanting to move on. Dan Aykroyd, who was a cast member on the late-night mainstay during its first four seasons, told Newsweek that Michaels has done a great job dealing with the constant cast rotations and praised his supportive nature:
Lorne is not a dictator, nor is he a prison warden. If an artist comes to him and says, 'I've got to go, I want to move on to other things,' Lorne has always been gracious about it. He doesn't jump up and down thrilled about it when key members move on, but he's always supportive.
Considering how long Saturday Night Live has been on and how many cast members the series has gone through, Lorne Michaels has seen a lot of people come and go. While it’s rarely ever easy for fans to see someone leave the program, it’s usually for a pretty good reason. In most cases, it's because a cast member is ready to move on to the next phase of their career. It’s nice knowing that Michaels is supportive, even if he's not necessarily leaping for joy over it.
He's seen some major people step away from the stage at Studio 8H over the years. Dan Aykyrod remained on the show from 1975 to 1979. Meanwhile, John Belushi appeared on the show (and served as a writer) from 1983 to 1985. Kristen Wiig had the longest stint of the trio, starring in seven seasons, between 2005 and 2012.
While a lot of cast members have left the show over the years, there are still plenty of stars that were on SNL for a long time. Kenan Thompson is continuing his tenure as the longest-standing cast member in the show's history, as he's going on 20 years. Not long after his All That and Kenan & Kel days, the actor joined the show in 2003. He Thompson reached his 1500th sketch in 2022 and has no plans to leave. He even still gets excited for each new season, which speaks to the beloved star's non-jaded nature.
More recently, Saturday Night Live Season 49 has been pretty great. The series welcomed new cast member Chloe Troast, and James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman were promoted from featured players to the main cast. Emma Stone was recently welcomed to the Five-Timers Club, joining an elite group of celebrities who have hosted SNL five times or more, including Steve Martin, Martin Short, Justin Timberlake, Tina Fey, and more. Former series star Pete Davidson hosted the season premiere, which included a surprise cameo from “Tayvis.”
It’s unclear if the series will see more cast exits either during the season or just after it's done. However, should that happen, one can surmise based on Dan Aykroyd's comments that Lorne Michaels will be supportive of whoever decides to end their tenure. You can watch Saturday Night Live for yourself on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET as part of the 2023 TV schedule, and stream episodes using a Peacock subscription.
